President-elect Joseph R. Biden named former 2020 rival Pete Buttigieg as his pick for transportation secretary on Tuesday, seeking to elevate a one-time opponent to a key post in the incoming administration.
Mr. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, would be the first openly gay member of a president’s Cabinet in a Senate-confirmed position.
He’s the first of Mr. Biden’s Democratic presidential rivals to be picked to lead a federal department in the new administration.
“Mayor Pete Buttigieg is a patriot and a problem-solver who speaks to the best of who we are as a nation,” Mr. Biden said in a statement.
Mr. Biden picked Vice President-elect Sen. Kamala D. Harris, another former rival, as his running mate.
Mr. Buttigieg emerged from relative obscurity to catch fire in the crowded Democratic field. He won the Iowa caucuses in February before ending his campaign shortly before Super Tuesday in March and endorsing Mr. Biden.
Mr. Buttigieg, 38, had made the case that Washington needed new blood in contrast to candidates such as Mr. Biden, who just turned 78 years old and will be the oldest U.S. president in history when he is inaugurated next month.
He drew particular scorn during the primaries from Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who cast the former mayor as a know-it-all in several memorable debate moments.
The two have since made up, and Ms. Klobuchar offered her congratulations on Tuesday.
Mr. Buttigieg also clashed with liberal rivals Sens. Bernard Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, whose supporters did not appreciate the younger candidate’s meteoric rise.
Mr. Sanders has been mentioned as a possible pick for labor secretary, but Mr. Biden has said the tight margins in the House and Senate are factoring into his personnel choices.
House Democratic leaders have warned Mr. Biden against dipping into their pool again after he tapped Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio to run the department of Housing and Urban Development and named Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana as a senior adviser and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.
Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico is also a leading contender to be the next Secretary of the Interior.
Others who had been named as potential contenders for transportation secretary include Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ rights group, hailed the historic nature of Mr. Buttigieg’s expected nomination.
“We have and will continue to engage with the Biden-Harris Transition team to ensure that LGBTQ people will be appointed at all levels of government and that those appointments will reflect the full diversity of our community,” said HRC President Alphonso David.
Richard Grenell, the former acting director of National Intelligence under President Trump, is openly gay but was named to the post by Mr. Trump in an acting capacity.
The Senate voted to confirm Mr. Grenell as U.S. ambassador to Germany in 2018.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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