First Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden were competitors, then allies. For a long time there was speculation about the place Joe Biden intended for the 38-year-old politician in his administration. Now it is official: Buttigieg will be put in charge of an entire ministry.

CNN was the first medium to report that the personnel matter has finally been decided: Pete Buttigieg is to become secretary of transportation. This will make him the first openly gay federal secretary in US history. Already in the last weeks Joe Biden and Kamala Harris proved that they are keeping their promise: The government will become more colorful and diverse than ever before.

As Secretary of Transportation, Buttigieg will have a key role in Biden’s presidency. After all, one of his central campaign promises was: clean energy by 2050. A key element of the future government’s climate policy is to significantly reduce emissions of climate-damaging gases in the transport sector. In addition, Biden plans to invest billions in the ailing infrastructure. With Buttigieg, he now has an important ally in this office.

In the official confirmation on the Secretary of Transportation personnel last night, Biden stated:

“Mayor Pete Buttigieg is a leader, patriot, and problem-solver. He speaks to the best of who we are as a nation.”

Final hurdle: Confirmation by the Senate

In a statement on social media, Pete Buttigieg said:

“I’m honored that President-elect Joe Biden has asked me to serve our nation as Secretary of Transportation, joining the extraordinary team that he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are assembling to lead our country forward.”

Innovations in transportation would propel the country forward, said the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. The time has come to revitalise communities through modern, sustainable infrastructure, creating millions of jobs and allowing all Americans to grow, he said. If confirmed in office, Buttigieg said he would work every day to make this vision a reality for the American people.

In the US, the Senate must confirm the presidents nominations. Just as with Supreme Court justices, a hearing is held before the full Senate for this purpose. Almost always, ministers are then confirmed by the Senate – in US history, only nine nominees have been rejected, the last being John Tower in 1989. George Bush had unsuccessfully nominated him as Secretary of Defence.

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