Since he was appointed secretary of the Department of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg has become a target of protesters and activists from an unlikely source — the progressive arm of his own party.
Over the last year, Buttigieg has been knocked for several transportation failures, most notably the Southwest holiday travel disaster in 2022. Most recently, he's been one of several Democrats receiving heavy backlash from progressive activists for his support of Israel and his work on climate change.
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Buttigieg assured people that there would be fewer problems with air travel this Thanksgiving season after last year's travel nightmare resulted in cancellations and delayed flights affecting an estimated 2 million passengers. Southwest lost $220 million in the final three months of 2022.
An absence of travel problems this season has kept progressives off Buttigieg's back, unlike last year. At the time, progressive lawmakers like Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) questioned the Department of Transportation's handling of the problems.
“Nearly six months ago @BernieSanders & I called for Buttigieg to implement fines & penalties on airlines for cancelling flights. Why were these recommendations not followed?” the California congressman had posted on X, then known as Twitter. “This mess with Southwest could have been avoided. We need bold action.”
Former Ohio Democratic state Sen. Nina Turner called Buttigieg "unqualified" and at the "bidding of corporations."
"There is a direct line from Secretary Buttigieg to the Southwest Airlines debacle and we shouldn’t pretend there isn’t," Turner said last year.
More recently, Buttigieg has been facing pushback from climate activists, including the left-wing organization Climate Defiance. His recent speech at Michigan State University on the Biden administration's infrastructure investments was heckled by protesters who chanted "Petrol Pete" before they were escorted out by law enforcement.
"The Secretary of Transportation — now known as Petro Pete — is actively considering new oil export terminals that would be worse for the climate than Keystone," Climate Defiance posted on X on Nov. 29 ahead of the protest. "We confronted him last month and we will confront him again tonight."
A month ago, protesters went onstage at a petrochemical project in Texas and displayed signs that said, "You're a climate coward," according to the Hill. One of their chants was, "Stop Petro Pete."
Activists who support Gaza in the war between Israel and Hamas have targeted Buttigieg, as well. Outside the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center on Nov. 29, where Buttigieg was speaking, protesters were picketing in the parking garage, calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. Many said they would refuse to vote for Biden in 2024 due to the administration's silence about Palestinian deaths.
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Another area where both progressives and conservatives have taken aim at Buttigieg is his jet record. Buttigieg, who repeatedly refers to climate change as an urgent "crisis," took at least 18 flights on jets between early 2021 and mid-2022. Private jets are five to 14 times more polluting than commercial airfare and 50 times more polluting than trains, according to Transport and Environment, a European energy group.
The transportation secretary faced criticism back in 2020 from rival Beto O'Rourke for flying private, as well.