WASHINGTON — Pete Buttigieg, a former mayor who challenged Joe Biden for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday on a 86-13 vote to head the Transportation Department.
Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., will oversee aviation, highways, vehicles, pipelines and transit, as well as efforts to ensure safe transportation in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. He is also the first openly gay Senate-confirmed Cabinet secretary.
