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Republicans have found a rather unusual bone to pick with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg: his choice of vehicle. Buttigieg, who has been the target of criticism by the right-wing for a variety of reasons, including those entirely unrelated to his role as Transportation Secretary, has now come under fire for driving a minivan.
Last week, the Transportation Secretary said he and his husband "drive a Pacifica" and that he "never thought I was gonna be a minivan person, and then we had kids." He pointed out that the car is "a plug-in, so it’s a hybrid.”
This seemingly innocuous statement was unexpectedly seized upon by the Republican National Committee (RNC), which shared the clip on X, formerly Twitter.
You can see the post below.
Shortly afterward, the Transportation Secretary's husband, educator and activist Chasten Buttigieg, humorously responded to the controversy, remarking:
"I’m starting to think the RNC thinks about my family more than our closest relatives. Send an address! It’s Christmas card season."
You can see his post below.
Many appreciated his response—and slammed the RNC in the process.
Pete Buttigieg's high-profile as a gay man in one of the government's top positions forced him to respond to attacks against him, his sexuality, his relationship with his husband and the fact they have children.
Chasten Buttigieg has typically made headlines for pushing back against conservative criticisms, including when he criticized Fox News for suggesting his husband was in the wrong when he refused to take a call from a Republican lawmaker while he was on paternity leave following the birth of their twins.
The pushback against the Transportation Secretary's decision to take paternity leave has long served as the basis for homophobic and sexist smears, particularly from Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert who accused him of using the birth of his children as an excuse not to address the COVID-19-related supply chain crisis.