Transportation

Pete Buttigieg, handed billions of dollars, gains influence with opportunity to shape national infrastructure priorities

His role to oversee infrastructure puts him at the center of a chief White House accomplishment

By Michael Laris and Ian Duncan
November 19, 2021 at 8:00 p.m. EST

During his presidential campaign last year, Pete Buttigieg released a $1 trillion infrastructure plan that called for vast new investment in public transit to lift local communities. ... Buttigieg didn’t reach the Oval Office, but on Friday, he stood before a deserted shopping mall in a swing state, extolling the benefits of a $1 trillion infrastructure law signed at the White House and a light-rail extension on its way with federal help.

“That’s the basic role of government, to do the things that we can only do when we do them together,” said Buttigieg, standing amid palm trees and hulking remnants of Phoenix’s Metrocenter mall, which shuttered during the pandemic. The rail project in the nation’s fifth-largest city will anchor the type of rebirth the transportation secretary hopes to make possible nationwide.

Buttigieg’s presidential bid didn’t last until the Arizona primary. But his role overseeing hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure investments puts Buttigieg at the center of one of the Biden administration’s chief accomplishments, with implications for his boss’s future and his own. He was handed the resources to uncork ambitious projects across the country, elevating local ideas and reshaping federal transportation priorities.

About $1 billion in grants the department awarded Friday offers a taste of the administration goals as it eyes much bigger spending through the infrastructure package. Buttigieg prioritized equity and environmental criteria in making the awards and shifted emphasis away from road-building efforts the Trump administration favored.

But the new infrastructure law also limits Washington’s power to require sweeping changes. Implementing it will test the former mayor’s management and political skills in a divided country with far-reaching transportation challenges and contrasting visions on how to solve them. The work will draw scrutiny and partisan broadsides, while offering an opportunity to leave a lasting mark and expand his national footprint.

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By Michael Laris
Michael Laris writes about the transformation of the U.S. transportation system. He has covered government accountability and was a reporter in Beijing. Twitter https://twitter.com/mikelaris

By Ian Duncan
Ian Duncan is a reporter covering federal transportation agencies and the politics of transportation. He previously worked at the Baltimore Sun for seven years, covering city hall, the military and criminal justice. He was part of the Sun's team covering Freddie Gray's death in 2015 and then-Mayor Catherine Pugh's Healthy Holly books scandal. Twitter https://twitter.com/iduncan