SCOOP: Pete Buttigieg's $80 billion in DEI grants are in the spotlight

THE LOWDOWN:

• Biden-era Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s latest problem is a report that his department “spent $80 billion on DEI grants, delayed air traffic control upgrades.”

• The GOP’s transportation-focused lawmakers told the Reporter that “this is what happens when a federal agency becomes a slush fund for Marxist ideology.”

• Nationally, Republicans at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) are already spotlighting Buttigieg’s failures.

• Steve Forbes, the chairman of Forbes Media, noted the contrast between the current and previous administrations.

Should Pete Buttigieg run for president — or any other office down the road — Republicans are eager to relitigate his failures as President Joe Biden’s Secretary of Transportation, multiple lawmakers told the Washington Reporter.

Buttigieg’s latest problem is a report that his department “spent $80 billion on DEI grants, delayed air traffic control upgrades.”

The GOP’s transportation-focused lawmakers told the Reporter that “this is what happens when a federal agency becomes a slush fund for Marxist ideology.”

Rep. Burgess Owens (R., Utah), who is on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told the Reporter that “Biden’s DOT had the chance to modernize our air traffic system and make travel safer for every American, but instead wasted $80 billion on DEI.

“I’m grateful to President Trump and Secretary Duffy for ending this taxpayer-funded nonsense and getting back to the real mission of this critical department,” Owens continued.

Rep. Mike Collins (R., Ga.), who is also on T&I, told the Reporter that “the Biden administration prioritized woke ideology over the safety of Americans and the development of critical infrastructure.”

“Myself and the federal employees I’ve spoken with are proud of President Trump and Secretary Duffy’s work to realign our nations’ priorities and focus on making travel safer and more efficient,” Collins said.

Nationally, Republicans at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) are already spotlighting Buttigieg’s failures.

“Democrat Pete Buttigieg wasted $80 billion on 400 DEI grants instead of fixing the crumbling air traffic control system,” the committee noted, while simultaneously pitching the merits of the GOP’s top legislative accomplishment. “Republicans are cleaning up Biden and Buttigieg's mess with the One Big Beautiful Bill with $12.5 billion to finally fix it.”

Steve Forbes, the chairman of Forbes Media, noted the contrast between the current and previous administrations.

“The Democrats’ radical DEI political agenda took precedent over upgrading the nation's outdated air traffic control systems, which still uses floppy discs,” he said.

President Trump and Secretary Sean Duffy are working to clean up the mess made by Mayor Pete and former President Biden.”