Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg ducked phone calls and public appearances while on a generous eight-week paid paternity leave amid infrastructure talks on Capitol Hill and a historic supply chain crisis.
According to documents made public by a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from Protect the Public’s Trust, a nonprofit government watchdog, Buttigieg steered clear of multiple official duties in the fall of 2021. Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten, adopted newborn twins in early September of that year.
During Buttigieg’s paternity leave, a staffer for the transportation secretary emailed Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley’s office to decline an invitation
