As Biden signed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill into law on Monday, Pete Buttigieg finds himself overseeing $210 billion in discretionary grants, making him the most powerful transportation secretary ever.
For the next few years, he'll dole out those funds to projects across the country, including megaprojects like the Brent Spence Bridge connecting Kentucky and Ohio, a key reason why Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell voted for the bill.
Buttigieg's rise from Midwestern mayor to presiding over administering hundreds of billions of dollars in a historic infrastructure package illustrates his dramatic political arc.
He's now one of Biden's go-to Cabinet members on messaging.
Buttigieg's childhood pal and presidential campaign manager, Mike Schmuhl, said the infrastructure bill represents Buttigieg's grounding belief that politics should, at core, address the mundane issues of everyday life.
He personally lobbied lawmakers on both sides, notching 300 calls and meetings until the final hours before the bill's passage, according to an adviser.
He logged more than 125 local news hits, and 300 press interviews selling the package.
The final bipartisan infrastructure deal wasn't everything Buttigieg and Biden wanted.
Buttigieg spent his earliest days in office talking up transportation projects that could improve racial equity, including in an early interview with Insider.
Still, the dollar amounts attached to the bipartisan infrastructure deal are so significant they have become a matter of consternation among Congressional Republicans.
Criticism aside, a White House official told Insider that Buttigieg would be instrumental in selling the plan alongside other Cabinet officials nationwide in events "aimed at touting what we've secured for working people with these historic investments."
This week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts’ sent migrants to Martha’s Vineyard and Vice President Kamala Harris’ home in Washington D.C.
DeSantis, who is running for re-election and is considered a potential 2024 presidential contender, chartered two planes to transport migrants from Texas.
But members of Congress, political scientists, and strategists generally don't blame age for these downfalls — leaders both young and old are prone to controversy.
To them, a successful leader possesses many qualities, all of which matter more than age.
Former president Donald Trump confirmed Monday that federal agents had executed a search warrant at his South Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, in a search multiple news outlets reported was related to whether he mishandled classified government documents. businessinsider.com/what-you-need-…
Regardless of its focus, legal experts quickly reached a consensus about the raid: A pile of evidence must have backed up the warrant authorizing the search. businessinsider.com/what-you-need-…
Cassidy Hutchinson, the former Trump White House aide who emerged as a star witness at the January 6 hearings, continued working for Trump for nine weeks after he left office, according to government records exclusively obtained by @thisisinsider. businessinsider.com/cassidy-hutchi…
Hutchinson served as a “coordinator” for Trump’s official, taxpayer-funded, post-presidential office from about January 20, 2021, to April 1, 2021, earning an annualized salary of $90,000, the General Services Administration documents state. businessinsider.com/cassidy-hutchi…
The documents establish that Hutchinson continued to earn a government paycheck for work in support of Trump for weeks after she witnessed his actions — and lack of action — on January 6, even as other colleagues resigned soon thereafter. businessinsider.com/cassidy-hutchi…
🇺🇸 Jockeying over the 2024 US presidential election has begun.
Many plans are contingent upon decisions from Biden and Trump. If there isn't a Biden-Trump matchup, here are the people showing signs they could be in the 2024 mix. 👇
Florida Gov. @RonDeSantisFL has been portrayed as a MAGA star who could replace Trump.
He's a proven fundraiser with more than $100 million for his gubernatorial reelection campaign. @CNBC reports that he's headed to a Utah private fundraiser this month.
As the only two of @JoeBiden's rivals from the 2020 primary to end up with jobs in the administration, @PeteButtigieg and @VP@KamalaHarris are the clear heirs apparent should Biden bow out.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of Moore v. Harper, which concerns gerrymandering, voting districts, and the independent state legislature doctrine, this coming October.
Moore v. Harper saw Democratic voters and nonprofits call in to court congressional maps drawn by Republican lawmakers in North Carolina following the 2020 census. They argued Republicans unfairly gerrymandered districts, violating the state constitution. businessinsider.com/what-is-moore-…
Earlier this year, the North Carolina Supreme Court blocked the state from using maps in primary elections and required the districts to be redrawn. businessinsider.com/north-carolina…