From the New York Post: Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg failed to replace outdated air traffic control systems while in office — with his agency instead shelling out tens of billions of dollars on a DEI agenda, according to federal spending records and airline industry insiders.
In one meeting, Buttigieg — who is said to be eyeing a 2028 presidential run — told industry executives that air traffic control upgrades would just allow them to fly more planes, “and so why would that be in his interest?” sources said.
What his department was really interested in was handing out hundreds of diversity, equity and inclusion grants totaling more than $80 billion over four years — at least half of the DOT’s entire budget for a typical fiscal year, records show.
“He was definitely pushing an agenda,” an air industry official said, noting the transportation secretary had “little to no interest” and took “definitely zero action” toward air traffic control modernization.
Fox Business anchor Elizabeth MacDonald posted the following details in a post on X:
Pete Buttigieg’s Transportation Dept. did spend $80B+ on social justice and “equity infrastructure projects,” vs a fraction of that upgrading the teetering U.S. air traffic control system. The sums spent on “equity” and social justice in FY 2023 alone were nearly half of the DOT’s entire FY 2023 budget, and were quadruple what was spent that year upgrading air traffic control, Transportation Dept. records show.
Documents show Buttigieg’s DOT spent $40B on “Justice40” programs in 2022–23. Separate grants on top of that in FY23 totaled over $40 billion—many with equity criteria.
Buttigieg pushed Biden’s “Justice40 programs” that required a huge 40% of Biden’s federal spending must go to “underserved” communities. “DEI-related” transportation investments began with $12.8B in FY 2022, but then more than doubled to $27.2B in FY 2023. And that year in 2023, USDOT announced another, separate $40B in social justice grants like Safe Streets and Roads for All, also cleaning up industrial sites.
That $67.2B total is nearly half of the DOT’s 142B FY 2023 budget, and is quadruple the $16.9B spent that year on air traffic control.
Pete Buttigieg’s Transportation Dept. did spend $80B+ on social justice and “equity infrastructure projects,” vs a fraction of that upgrading the teetering U.S. air traffic control system. The sums spent on “equity” and social justice in FY 2023 alone were nearly half of the… pic.twitter.com/aIkYJWNAaS
— Elizabeth MacDonald (@LizMacDonaldFOX) July 21, 2025
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