Pete Buttigieg’s Climate Shame: Private Flights

December 13, 2022

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg enjoys putting on a show and biking to White House meetings. But when it comes down to it, he is like every other bureaucrat who enjoys private flights on the taxpayer’s dollar. It is being reported that Secretary Buttigieg has taken at least 18 private flights funded by the American taxpayer. 

APT executive director Caitlin Sutherland told Fox News:  “Everyday Americans face flight [cancellations] and long wait times because Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has completely mismanaged air travel. Yet, he gets to avoid all that by taking taxpayer-funded private jets to destinations with readily available commercial airline options…And for someone so holier-than-thou on reducing emissions, Buttigieg sure doesn’t seem to mind the pollution caused by his literal jet-setting. This is hypocrisy at its finest, and these troubling expenses to taxpayers must come under immediate scrutiny.” 

The Secretary has been very vocal regarding “human-caused global warming,” mainly focusing on policies to reduce fossil fuel emissions. So naturally, he decided to take a private jet several times.  “Private jet travel, though, is by far the most carbon-intensive mode of transportation. Private jets are 10 times more carbon intensive than commercial planes and 50 times more carbon intensive than trains,” according to a 2021 report from the group Transport & Environment.

Secretary Buttigieg is a classic example of the eco-left. Do as we say, not as we do. Maybe Santa will bring Pete a new bike so he can stop spending taxpayer dollars on unnecessary private flights.