Pete Buttigieg under fire for spending $80B on diversity policies while ignoring much-needed air traffic control upgrades

As Pete Buttigieg eyes a 2028 presidential run, insiders are highlighting how the former transportation secretary appeared to be more concerned with diversity than efficiency during his run as secretary of transportation. 

Under Buttigieg, 43, the Department of Transportation (DOT) spent over $80 billion on a Biden-era equity initiative in a four-year span, according to a press release. 

The program, called Justice40, was established to direct 40 percent of all DOT grant funding to ‘disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.’

Buttigieg far exceeded the requirement, allocating 55 percent of DOT funding to the program which was established to meet a Biden order meant to ‘advance equitable outcomes.’

There are also questions about whether Buttigieg prioritized equity over creating better travel experiences for Americans. 

In one meeting during his term atop the DOT, industry executives suggested upgrading air traffic control capabilities, but stunningly the Democrat shot down the idea because it would enable airlines to fly more planes. 

‘So why would that be in his interest?,’ sources told the New York Post of the incident.

An air industry official anonymously told the outlet that Buttigieg ‘was definitely pushing an agenda,’ adding the Democrat had ‘little to no interest’ in modernizing air traffic control systems.

Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg speaks during a VoteVets Town Hall, May 13, 2025, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The rumor mill suggests he is weighing a run for president in 2028

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been chronically understaffed for years

He took ‘zero action’ on the flight systems responsible for keeping travelers safe, the official added. 

‘At first, [the Department of Transportation] and he were reluctant to say there was an air traffic controller shortage or that the shortage had anything to do with flight delays or flight cancellations.’

But a spokesman for Buttigieg denied that the former secretary neglected air traffic control issues.

‘Suggesting that Secretary Buttigieg chose not to pursue air traffic control modernization is absurd,’ Chris Meagher, Buttigieg’s spokesman, told the Daily Mail. 

‘Secretary Buttigieg’s focus was always on safety — not just in aviation, but also on roads and bridges, where 40,000 Americans die on our country’s roads each year. Fixing issues with air traffic control was a priority.’ 

David Grizzle, a former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) official under former President Barack Obama, told the Post that Buttigieg’s tenure was lackluster.

‘There certainly were no remarkable achievements in aviation during his [Buttigieg’s] term.’

During the Democrat’s tenure close to 11 percent of flight cancellations were due to failures in the national aviation system, according to DOT data. Most flights, 54 percent, were caused by weather conditions while 34 percent were due to faults from airlines. 

An American Eagle regional jet takes off from Washington Reagan National Airport on March 23, 2025 in Arlington, VA. Earlier this year a plane and helicopter collided near the airport, killing all passengers aboard both vehicles

The DOT, under Buttigieg, approved roughly 400 DEI-related grants, according to an analysis done by the Post. Meanwhile, the first Trump administration granted just 60 DEI initiatives amounting to a few billion dollars. 

‘Biden and Buttigieg spent their tenure pandering to the woke mob and spent tens of billions on their anti-American DEI agenda,’ a DOT spokesperson told the Daily Mail. ‘Secretary Duffy is working to clean up the Biden-Buttigieg mess by prioritizing safety and efficiency, including by revitalizing our air traffic control system after years of neglect under Pete’s watch.’ 

Issues at the FAA, the agency overseeing national air travel under the DOT, have been notorious for years. 

The agency has not had full staffing levels for the better part of a decade, employing just 80 percent of the target for professional air traffic controllers. 

There have also been a number of high-profile near-misses in recent years where planes have narrowly avoided collisions.

In 2023, a crucial FAA system went dark, prompting the first nationwide grounding for flights in the U.S. since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. 

Problems at the agency have seemed to persist through the Trump administration, too. 

Earlier this year a plane and helicopter collided Washington National Airport, killing all passengers aboard both vehicles, forcing the FAA to change its guidance for the region. 

Initial evidence points to dangerously narrow vertical separation between the airliner’s approach path and the helicopter’s route along the Potomac River as the cause though a final report by the NTSB isn’t due until next year.