WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate has confirmed Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., who challenged Joe Biden for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, to head the Department of Transportation.
Mr. Buttigieg was confirmed by the Senate by vote of 86-13.
"I'm honored and humbled by today's vote in the Senate — and ready to get to work @USDOT," Mr. Buttigieg wrote on Twitter.
As head of the DOT, Mr. Buttigieg will oversee aviation, highways, vehicles, pipelines and transit, as well as efforts to ensure safe transportation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among those congratulating Mr. Buttigieg on his confirmation was the Auto Care Association (ACA).
"As the leader of the Department of Transportation, Secretary Buttigieg shares our industry's mission of ensuring the safety of the motoring public," the ACA said. "We look forward to working with him and his staff to address the transportation policy issues that impact our members and their customers, including the implementation of the Massachusetts Right to Repair ballot initiative, the repairability of advanced vehicle systems, and a federal standard for accessing vehicle repair and maintenance telematics."
The ACA's statement was made on behalf of the auto care industry and over 538,000 businesses that "are committed to providing the quality parts, products and services necessary to keeping the 290 million vehicles on the road today operating safely."
A key appointment under the new administration for the vehicle and tire industries will be for administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a position currently open.
Steve Cliff, deputy executive officer of the California Air Resources Board since September 2017, was recently named deputy administrator and is the agency's highest ranking executive until an administrator is named.
