Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg bluntly pointed out exactly why President Donald Trump just rescinded a popular Biden-era rule requiring airlines to compensate passengers for flight disruptions, showing he is not surprised in the least.
The Trump administration announced it will abandon the Biden administration's proposal that would have required airlines to compensate passengers stranded by cancellations or major delays caused by the carrier.
The rule, unveiled in December during President Joe Biden’s final weeks in office, called for cash payments beginning at $200 for cancellations or long delays linked to mechanical problems or airline computer outages.
Compensation could have reached $775 for delays of nine hours or more, and the measure was designed to bring U.S. consumer protections closer in line with European standards.
In a notice posted Thursday, the Transportation Department said scrapping the rule is “consistent with Department and administration priorities.” Trump has made rolling back regulations a hallmark of his presidency, often framing federal rules as unnecessary or burdensome.
Buttigieg responded to the news with the following observation:
"Our billionaire President put an airline lobbyist in charge of the Department of Transportation. So no, this is not a surprise."
You can see Buttigieg's post below.
It's true.
Current Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has served on the advisory board at BGR Group, the lobbying firm he joined after leaving Congress in 2019. While he co-led BGR’s financial services practice, disclosures show he also represented a handful of transportation-related clients.
Those included pipeline operator Enterprise Products and the Partnership for Fair and Open Skies, a coalition of major U.S. airlines and industry unions engaged in a long-running dispute with Persian Gulf carriers. Duffy has not reported any lobbying activity since 2023 but has continued to provide strategic advice in his role on the firm’s advisory board.
Many are angry.
Spot on, Pete.
