Thread by @dsamuelsohn

NEW: Inside Secretary Pete's quest to make the Transportation Department cool again - great long read profile of the new DOT chief by @adamwren (in his @thisisinsider debut) & @rbravender ($) businessinsider.com/pete-buttigieg…

Rank-and-file Transportation Department employees saw their phones start blowing up the day President-elect Joe Biden announced that Pete Buttigieg was his pick to lead their agency.

One DOT staffer remembered being bombarded that December Tuesday with text messages, emails, and Facebook posts from friends who knew little about his actual job but were excited to hear that Buttigieg would be his boss.

"Hey, you might get to have lunch with him!" or "You might see him in the elevator!" those messages read, the DOT employee told Insider. They all wondered what Buttigieg would be called in his new gig: "Are you going to say 'Mayor Pete' or 'Secretary Pete'?"

It's not uncommon for political stars & former WH contenders to land in a Cabinet, but they usually don't call their new home the DOT, a behemoth federal agency created during the LBJ admin w/ a portfolio includes pipeline safety, air-traffic control, & highway maintenance.

So when they heard their new boss would be Buttigieg — a Democrat with national name recognition, a devoted social-media following, and a passion for arcane transit issues — some felt as if they'd won the secretary sweepstakes, two DOT employees told Insider.

"He's brought a lot of high-profile attention and also clout to the role," a second DOT staffer said. "We're all excited at the change and like what we've been seeing so far."

Buttigieg has been on the job for only a month, and his first big test will be helping the administration formulate and pass a major infrastructure package. On Thursday, he's expected to join Biden for a meeting with House Republicans and Democrats to discuss infrastructure.

In his early weeks, staffers inside DOT have been impressed by his willingness to learn. The former mayor of South Bend held an all-agency town hall, went on a listening tour w/ several dept branches, and has been leaving voicemails to staff every Friday that serve as pep talks.

"Hope that you're doing well, and just wanted to share a few reflections after my first full week here at USDOT," Buttigieg said in a recent voicemail, in which he discussed his quarantine and talked about breaking down silos at the department.

You can list to Secretary Pete's voice mail message here: soundcloud.com/user-154953116…

The voicemails seem like "weekly notes from a very interested older brother," one DOT employee said. "Do I need another voicemail? No. Do I like that he's taking the time to do it? Yeah, I do."

So much more in this @SecretaryPete profile from our resident Indiana expert @adamwren & our all-star policy reporter @rbravender - Check it out with a subscription to @thisisinsider and you'll see what the buzz is about. Here's how to sign up: businessinsider.com/subscription