Senate confirms Pete Buttigieg as transportation secretary, Internet asks 'Who the f*** were 13 who voted no?'
The Senate on Tuesday confirmed former presidential candidate and former Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg as transportation secretary, making the 39-year-old the first Senate-confirmed LGBTQ Cabinet secretary. It is reported that this position in a top federal job would help Buttigieg gain more experience if he were to run for the presidency again.
In response to the confirmation, Buttigieg said, "I'm honored and humbled by today's vote in the Senate—and ready to get to work @USDOT." With Buttigieg's approval, President Joe Biden's push for a bipartisan infrastructure package will get support.
I'm honored and humbled by today's vote in the Senate—and ready to get to work @USDOT.
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) February 2, 2021
He was approved by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, following a hearing where he was quizzed related to issues about Covid-19, infrastructure improvement, and strengthening the powers of the Federal Aviation Administration if he were to take the reins of the 55,000-person strong Department of Transportation. The Senate's approval came with 86-13 where 13 voted against the move and the internet is mad at these 13 senators who voted against Buttigieg.
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One Twitter follower asked, "Who the f*** were the 13 who voted no?!!! Let me guess, members of the #SeditionCaucus!" To this, another user tweeted the last names of the 13 senators who voted no, "Hawley Blackburn Rubio Tim Scott Rick Scott Marshall Tuberville Shelby Cassidy Cruz Cotton Hagerty Lankford."
Hawley
— Sean Galligan (@Gnaes) February 2, 2021
Blackburn
Rubio
Tim Scott
Rick Scott
Marshall
Tuberville
Shelby
Cassidy
Cruz
Cotton
Hagerty
Lankford
Who are the 13 senate members who voted against Buttigieg?
Reportedly, the 13 senate members who voted against Buttigieg include Josh Hawley, Marsha Blackburn, Marco Rubio, Tim Scott, Rick Scott, Roger Marshall, Tommy Tuberville, Richard Shelby, Bill Cassidy, Ted Cruz, James Paul Lankford, Tom Cotton, and Bill Hagerty.
Pete Buttigieg's confirmation speech:
In his confirmation speech at the Senate, the former mayor started by thanking his husband Chasten Buttigieg and spoke of, "his many sacrifices and his support in making it possible for me to pursue public service."
He also spoke about the work that needs to be done in the Department of Transportation and said, "[There is] a lot of work to do to improve the infrastructure in this country, a mission that will not only keep more people safe but also grow our economy as we look to the future."
First Senate-confirmed LGBTQ Cabinet secretary:
President of the Human Rights Campaign, Alphonso David, in a statement, said, "Congratulations to Secretary Pete Buttigieg on his historic confirmation. This confirmation breaks through a barrier that has existed for too long; where LGBTQ identity served as an impediment to nomination or confirmation at the highest level of government. Let this important moment for our movement serve as a reminder to every LGBTQ young person: you too can serve your country in any capacity you earn the qualifications to hold. President Biden promised to deliver an administration representative of the diversity of this nation, and this confirmation is a significant achievement toward that goal. I look forward to working with Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the entire Biden cabinet."