As the Biden administration worked to prevent a catastrophic rail unions strike over the summer, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg went on vacation and phoned-in to negotiations from 3,500 miles away in Europe, Fox News has confirmed.
“The secretary took a long-planned personal trip from Aug. 29 to Sept. 5,” a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation told Fox News. “As usual, while traveling on personal time he remained available and engaged on urgent issues, which in this case meant multiple calls with staff and stakeholders to work on the topic of rail labor negotiations.”
The previously undisclosed trip was first revealed by the Washington Free Beacon, which reported that Buttigieg set off to Porto, Portugal, just one week before Amtrak began canceling long-distance trains ahead of the looming strike. He was working remotely while the Biden administration engaged in tense negotiations to reach a deal that would prevent widespread supply chain disruptions just before Christmas, the department said.
PETE BUTTIGIEG OFTEN FLIES ON TAXPAYER-FUNDED PRIVATE JETS, FLIGHT DATA SHOW
Pete Buttigieg speaks during a news conference at the Memphis International Airport in Tennessee, Nov. 29, 2022.
(Lucy Garrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Rabelo port wine barge and The Ponte de Dom Luis I – metal arch bridge over River Douro connecting Porto to V
