Pete Buttigieg has become the GOP's favorite lightning rod for controversy. Why him?
Pete Buttigieg's tenure as secretary of the Department of Transportation has hit many bumps in the road. And hitches in the supply chain. And turbulence in the air.
Now, it's gone off the rails, Republicans say.
The Transportation Department secretary and 2020 presidential candidate has become a lightning rod for controversy among the political right after landing squarely at the center of a series of crises on land and in the air.
The latest – a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio – prompted Republicans on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability to announce Friday they were launching an investigation into Buttigieg's response to the accident.
Toxic rail accident in Ohio fuels GOP investigation
In a letter to Buttigieg announcing the probe, Republicans on the committee lambasted the transportation secretary who they say "ignored the catastrophe for over a week."
The Feb. 3 crash spilled hazardous chemicals and caused health concerns among residents. Republicans are demanding an explanation for Buttigieg's "apathy" following the derailment.
Buttigieg visited East Palestine on Thursday – 20 days after the crash. The delay had brought on criticism from Republicans – and some Democrats – who said the country's transportation head should have inspected the site earlier; Buttigieg told CBS News that he "could have spoken sooner" on the derailment.
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"The Biden administration may have done a lot of the right things behind the scenes in Ohio, but they missed the mark completely on the political value of showing up," said Rory Cooper, a longtime Republican strategist.
The GOP's criticism of Buttigieg checks off two strategic boxes for the party: Targeting both Biden and a Democratic presidential hopeful, said Kyle Saunders, a political science professor at Colorado State University.
"It's both a point scoring endeavor on the part of the Republicans to take Buttigieg down a notch or two but I think it's also a broader attempt to basically make the Biden administration look bad," he said.
Trains, planes and supplies: Buttigieg faces transportation woes
Since President Joe Biden tapped Buttigieg to head the Transportation Department in 2021, the first openly gay cabinet secretary has dealt with supply chain shortages and airline challenges in addition to the catastrophic freight train accident.
During Buttigieg's first year as transportation secretary, he faced inventory shortages, supply chain disruptions and congestion at shipping ports that impacted the global supply chain leading to increases in food and gas prices. While it's not clear what he could have done to alleviate a problem caused by factors beyond his control such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Republicans dubbed Buttigieg as "absent" during the crisis.
The GOP also pointed fingers at Buttigieg after Southwest Airlines cancelled more than 15,000 flights last December and a computer glitch with the Federal Aviation Administration grounded more than 10,000 planes..
"This is an example of private businesses acting poorly," said Darrell West, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Center for Technology Innovation. "And the failures were really their failures, not that of the Transportation Department."
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Dani Simons, the agency's spokesperson, said the supply chain issues are now largely resolved; airlines are being more "transparent and fair" with customers facing flight delays or cancellations; and Buttigieg has been using the Ohio train derailment to push for safety reforms.
"He has repeatedly risen to meet the moment," said Simons in a statement to USA TODAY.
Sen. Marco Rubio: Ohio train derailment could have been prevented. Pete Buttigieg needs to do his job.
Republicans point fingers at Buttigieg
In addition to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability's investigation into Buttigieg's response to the train derailment, other Republicans have gone as far as to call for Buttigieg's resignation or insinuate an impeachment:
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio sent a letter to Biden last week urging the president to request the resignation of Buttigieg who he claimed "has repeatedly demonstrated a gross level of incompetence and apathy that is detrimental to the safety and prosperity of the American people."
"I hope he does resign and if he doesn't, there's a long list of impeachment criteria," Rep. Warren Davidson. R-Ohio, said on the conservative news outlet Real America's Voice.
Former President Donald Trump visited the East Palestine crash site one day before Buttigieg's trip, calling the federal government's response to the train derailment a "betrayal."
Saunders said an impeachment of a cabinet member would be a "relatively rare remedy for someone in this position." But, he said the effort likely would yield political benefits: "There would be nothing like an impeachment to lower that positive name recognition."
Buttigieg on Twitter responded to the criticism by questioning whether it is being made in good faith: "Happy to discuss timing of our Ohio visit - but starting to think some in Washington want that to be the main focus so that there aren’t too many questions about rail safety regulation, who is for and who is against," he said.
Investigating the investigators: GOP creates panels to probe DOJ, China
Buttigieg's political future in flux
Despite the GOP strategy to wound Buttigieg politically, experts say it probably won't dampen his political odds.
"He clearly is someone Republicans should worry about in the future because he has a strong national profile and is well positioned for national leadership," West said, calling the transportation secretary a "next-generation leader for Democrats."
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Impeaching a cabinet member is rare. Only one has ever been impeached: William Belknap, secretary of war under President Ulysses S. Grant, for partaking in an illegal arms sales to France and for accepting bribes in exchange for a War Department appointment.
"Impeachment should be reserved for serious offenses, not mere incompetence," Cooper said.
Despite calls to resign, Buttigieg still remains a contender to run in a future presidential election. In an October interview with CNN, Buttigieg said he doesn't "know what’s going to happen in the future" but was “not ruling out” another White House bid.
Joey Garrison contributed to this reporting.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pete Buttigieg is the GOP's most recent political target. Here's why.
