Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg testifies at a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencieson April 28. Photo: Nicholas Kamm / AFP via Getty Images.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has a simple message for Republican investigators lining up to grill him on climate change and electric vehicles: Bring it on.
Why it matters: The anticipated GOP hearings next year will give the former South Bend mayor the very thing he needs — attention — to raise his profile in a crowded Democratic field in 2024 if President Biden decides not to run.
- Buttigieg is the rare Democrat who not only agrees to appear on conservative media like Fox News, but actually seems to enjoy it. The hearings will give him another platform he's eager to use.
- "I'm absolutely ready to take our case to the Hill," Buttigieg told a small group of reporters, previewing his hearing strategy.
Between the lines: Buttigieg isn't necessarily agreeing to appear before any and every congressional committee.
- Instead, he's setting his own conditions and trying to establish the terms of the debate.
- "We have a set of initiatives on infrastructure that are widely supported by the American people that are the result of bipartisan work in Congress," Buttigieg said.
- He said he's willing to engage "where there is a contest over what’s the right thing to do, where people object to our efforts to reduce the impact of transportation on the climate, or where people have a problem with us trying to make sure that this round of infrastructure investment is equitable."
The big picture: Buttigieg joins a small handful of administration officials, including Anthony Fauci and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, who have publicly indicated they will testify before GOP-led committees and comply with their investigations — at least to the extent that they are "in good faith," Fauci said.
- Fauci, who is set to retire from public service this month, told reporters at his last White House briefing: "I have no trouble testifying — we can defend and explain everything that we’ve said."
- "I'm very much in favor of legitimate oversight. Absolutely. I mean, I've testified before Congress ... literally hundreds of times," he said on CBS, pointing to his 38 years as director of NIAID.
Driving the news: Even while in the minority, Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have signaled their intent to look into federal spending on infrastructure and the origins of COVID-19.
- Those efforts will take on new urgency when Republicans take the majority.
- Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) wrote to Fauci Tuesday asking him and dozens of other public health officials to sit for a transcribed interview with the Committee.
- In March, Comer and House Transportation Committee ranking member Sam Graves (R-Mo.) wrote to White House infrastructure coordinator Mitch Landrieu requesting documents related to the $1.2 trillion spending package.
Go deeper: Behind the scenes, Biden world has been quietly staffing up and tracking the movements of Republican committee leaders in preparation for the onslaught of investigations.
- Both experienced orators, Buttigieg and Fauci have not shied away from going toe-to-toe with congressional Republicans in the past.
- Buttigieg sparred with Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) during a House Transportation Committee hearing in July after the Republican asked whether the Cabinet has considered invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Biden due to questions about his mental health.
- Fauci hit back at two Republican senators in January, accusing one of attacking him for political gain and calling another “a moron” on a hot mic.