Transportation Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pete-buttigieg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pete Buttigieg</a> mocked Americans this week who do not wish to purchase electric vehicles, comparing them to people who thought in the 2000s that there would only be landline phones.
Buttigieg made the remarks during a Tuesday Fox News interview on &#8220;America&#8217;s Newsroom&#8221; when asked about the struggling electric vehicle market.
&#8220;Tesla sales fell 8.5% the first quarter of this year,&#8221; said co-host John Roberts. &#8220;Ford this week is laying off two thirds of its workforce at the F-150 electric lightning plant. It&#8217;s also scaling back a battery production facility because of sagging sales.&#8221;
&#8220;EV sales are nowhere near what this president wanted or expected, yet the administration continues to shove them down consumers throats,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Why?&#8221;
Buttigieg claimed that it was &#8220;clear&#8221; that consumers want to purchase EVs as he proceeded to dismiss Tesla&#8217;s slowing numbers.
&#8220;Let&#8217;s be clear that the automotive sector is moving toward EVs, and we can&#8217;t pretend otherwise,&#8221; he claimed. &#8220;Sometimes when these debates happen, I feel like it&#8217;s the early 2000s and I&#8217;m talking to some people who think that we can just have landline phones forever.&#8221;
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WATCH:
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WATCH: Pete Buttigieg mocks Americans who don&#39;t want to be forced into buying electric vehicles:
&quot;I feel like it&#39;s the early 2000s and I&#39;m talking to some people who think that we can just have landline phones forever.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Pz28FEmfVQ">pic.twitter.com/Pz28FEmfVQ</a>
&mdash; Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1775288540382847396?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Republican strategist Matt Whitlock responded to the segment by noting the flaw in Buttigieg&#8217;s argument.
&#8220;This is the problem &#8211; Democrats think EV&#8217;s are to gas-powered cars what cell phones were to landlines,&#8221; Whitlock posted on X. &#8220;In reality, EV&#8217;s are to gas powered cars what Fyre Fest was to music festivals. Sounded cool, had potential, but was built on false promises and artificial market forces.&#8221;
Political commentator Noam Blum posted: &#8220;Ok but you actually had reasons why cellphones were better than landlines. What’s your argument in favor of EVs other than &#8216;they’re newer&#8217;?&#8221;
&#8220;Having a landline costs a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of what an electric vehicle costs on average,&#8221; said Fox News contributor Joe Concha.
&#8220;Otherwise, great analogy from the smartest guy in the administration,&#8221; Concha mocked.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Holds News Conference To Discuss Impacts Of A Government Shutdown

WATCH: Buttigieg Mocks People Who Don’t Want Electric Vehicles

Biden Administration

Economy

electric vehicles

Pete Buttigieg

Tesla

U.S.

Transportation Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pete-buttigieg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pete Buttigieg</a> said on Sunday the federal government would provide more financial assistance to assist with the recovery after the deadly bridge collapse in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/baltimore" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Baltimore</a> last week.
The Cabinet official made the comments on CBS News after the Transportation Department announced $60 million in <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/biden-harris-administration-announces-60-million-emergency-work-wake-collapse-francis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;Emergency Relief&#8221; funds</a> to help Maryland rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which was hit by a cargo ship.
&#8220;We&#8217;re using an authority called the Emergency Relief. This is through our Federal Highway Administration. That&#8217;s how we got those first 60 million out and there will be more where that came from,&#8221; Buttigieg said during an <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pete-buttigieg-transportation-secretary-face-the-nation-transcript-03-31-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview on &#8220;Face the Nation.&#8221;</a>
&#8220;Now it is possible we may need to turn to Congress to supplement that fund. That has happened in the past, if you remember the 2007 bridge collapse in Minnesota, ultimately about $260 million put together, including funds that were put through Congress on a bipartisan basis,&#8221; Buttigieg said.
He added, &#8220;I hope and expect this too will be a bipartisan priority. It&#8217;s not just the right thing to do for the people of Baltimore. But really important, again, for our whole supply system to make sure that that port and that bridge are operating just the way they were supposed to.&#8221;
Although GOP hardliners have pushed for reining in federal spending, they <a href="https://www.politico.com/video/2024/03/28/hard-right-house-gop-open-to-funding-baltimore-bridge-repairs-1277920" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared to be open</a> to federal aid under the right conditions. But <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4561463-republican-biden-baltimore-bridge-collapse/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not everyone</a> seemed happy after President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-says-wants-federal-government-pay-rebuilding-baltimore-bridge-ca-rcna145138" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he wanted the federal government to cover the &#8220;entire&#8221; cost of the reconstruction project.
CBS News correspondent Ed O&#8217;Keefe asked Buttigieg what he would say to any &#8220;skeptical&#8221; lawmaker who might say they oppose providing federal taxpayer dollars to help repair the bridge.
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&#8220;The pitch is your district could be next,&#8221; Buttigieg said. &#8220;And also this has historically been bipartisan, and I&#8217;m not just reaching back to bygone eras. Remember, the infrastructure package itself — President Biden&#8217;s infrastructure plan went through on a bipartisan basis. A lot of people didn&#8217;t think that was possible when we got here in 2021.&#8221;
&#8220;But the president never gave up on the idea,&#8221; he added. &#8220;And sure enough, a lot of Republicans were willing to cross the aisle, work with President Biden, work with Democrats to get this done. If there&#8217;s anything left in this country that is more bipartisan than infrastructure, it should be emergency response. This is both and I hope that Congress will be willing if and when we turn to them.&#8221;

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg

Buttigieg Pledges ‘More’ Federal Assistance For Maryland Bridge Collapse After $60 Million Start

Buttigieg Pledges 'More' Federal Assistance For Maryland Bridge Collapse After $60 Million Start

Baltimore

Disasters

Maryland

Politics

Transportation

After Chasten Buttigieg, the husband of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, blasted the state of Oklahoma for appointing Chaya Raichik, aka Libs of TikTok, to a state advisory panel on education, the Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction fired back that Chasten Buttigieg “is actively indoctrinating kids.”
Raichik was appointed to the Oklahoma Library Media Advisory Committee in January by Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, a committed Christian who is a fierce opponent of inculcating LGBT values in public schools. Last week, Chasten Buttigieg <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/chasten-buttigieg-calls-oklahoma-superintendent-135324054.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>, “Look, Oklahoma ranks number 48 in education. So, if your state ranks number 48, you’ve got some work to do. And I think the choice to bring someone like Libs of TikTok is going in the completely wrong direction. And if I were in Oklahoma, I would be very embarrassed that that is what my state superintendent was focusing on.”
Raichik responded on X, “The husband of a current Cabinet member publicly blasted a citizen journalist because I post tiktoks he doesn&#8217;t like and don&#8217;t want kids being transed in school. Does anyone else find this alarming?”
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The husband of a current Cabinet member publicly blasted a citizen journalist because I post tiktoks he doesn’t like and don’t want kids being transed in school.
Does anyone else find this alarming? <a href="https://t.co/pSfYJ6U0xC">pic.twitter.com/pSfYJ6U0xC</a>
&mdash; Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href="https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1766904489532141601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
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“As a parent and former teacher, I want qualified people involved in education,” Buttigieg reacted. “This is actually quite simple. Chaya isn&#8217;t qualified for her appointed government position. She doesn&#8217;t live in Oklahoma. Holds no degree in education. Zero classroom experience. The rest is theatrics.”
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As a parent and former teacher, I want qualified people involved in education. This is actually quite simple. Chaya isn&#39;t qualified for her appointed government position. She doesn&#39;t live in Oklahoma. Holds no degree in education. Zero classroom experience. The rest is theatrics. <a href="https://t.co/dV78j7Dx7t">pic.twitter.com/dV78j7Dx7t</a>
&mdash; Chasten Glezman Buttigieg (@Chasten) <a href="https://twitter.com/Chasten/status/1766916749125902781?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Raichik then reposted a video originally posted by the Log Cabin Republicans in 2022 showing Chasten leading children at Pride Camp, an Iowa summer camp for gay and transgender identifying high school students, to chant, “I pledge my heart to the rainbow of the Not So Typical Gay Camp. One camp, full of pride, indivisible, with affirmation and equal rights for all.”
She wrote, “Chasten Buttigieg, husband of @SecretaryPete is attacking me because he feels threatened by LoTT&#8217;s mission to expose child groomers like him. He doesn&#8217;t want you to see this video of him making kids &#8216;pledge allegiance to the rainbow&#8217; and LGBTQ pride, so definitely don&#8217;t share it!”
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Chasten Buttigieg, husband of <a href="https://twitter.com/SecretaryPete?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecretaryPete</a> is attacking me because he feels threatened by LoTT&#39;s mission to expose child groomers like him
He doesn&#39;t want you to see this video of him making kids &#39;pledge allegiance to the rainbow&#39; and LGBTQ pride, so definitely don&#39;t share it! <a href="https://t.co/osa9Wy03it">https://t.co/osa9Wy03it</a> <a href="https://t.co/Juwp5taO97">pic.twitter.com/Juwp5taO97</a>
&mdash; Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href="https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1767229108449059164?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Walters took a shot at Buttigieg, tweeting, “In Oklahoma we will not be taking advice from someone who is actively indoctrinating kids.”
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In Oklahoma we will not be taking advice from someone who is actively indoctrinating kids. <a href="https://t.co/gPcG6eIjvK">https://t.co/gPcG6eIjvK</a>
&mdash; Superintendent Ryan Walters (@RyanWaltersSupt) <a href="https://twitter.com/RyanWaltersSupt/status/1767656469271347515?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2024</a></blockquote>
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In 2023, Walters stated, “We’ve been really clear here. We’re going to only allow boys to go to the boys’ bathroom and girls to go the girls’ bathroom. And there’s dangerous consequences when common sense is vacated. And we’ve seen a district here in the state where a boy was allowed to go to the girls’ restroom and assaulted two young girls there.”
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“What we’ve seen is an assault on truth in our education system,” he continued. “And what we’ve seen is instead of telling kids that there’s two genders, it’s biology, we have injected radical gender theory in telling kids that they want to be other genders. It’s dangerous; it puts our girls in jeopardy; it endangers their safety &#8230; What we’ve got to do is return back to the common sense polices that we had just a decade ago in our schools and say, &#8216;Listen, we are absolutely going to affirm truth. What is reality?&#8217;”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Protecting Students from Leftist Social Experiments by Upholding the Law" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SHxuHyqTkcY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Celebrities Visit Broadway – October 2022

‘Actively Indoctrinating Kids’: Oklahoma Superintendent Of Public Instruction Blasts Chasten Buttigieg

Education

Oklahoma

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cnn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a>&#8216;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jake-tapper" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jake Tapper</a> pressed Transportation Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pete-buttigieg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pete Buttigieg</a> about the Biden administration&#8217;s response to the Norfolk Southern <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ohio-train-disaster">train derailment</a> nearly a year after the toxic disaster in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/east-palestine">East Palestine</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ohio">Ohio</a>.
In an <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2024/01/22/the-lead-pete-buttigieg-east-palestine-jake-tapper-live.cnn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exchange that aired</a> on Monday, Tapper asked Buttigieg why calls for a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ohio-governor-asks-biden-for-east-palestine-disaster-declaration-150-days-after-train-derailment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">major disaster declaration</a> — including from Ohio Republican Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mike-dewine">Mike DeWine</a> and <a href="https://www.brown.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/sherrod-brown-biden-administration-declare-east-palestine-derailment-disaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)</a> — that could unlock additional resources such as health screenings to residents are not being heeded by the federal government.
&#8220;The Biden administration refuses to do that,&#8221; Tapper said. &#8220;They say a disaster declaration does not apply because it&#8217;s not a natural disaster. They say Norfolk Southern is responsible. So is that disaster declaration still just off the table for these residents who are clearly suffering?&#8221;
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CNN: Why won&#39;t Biden approve the Ohio governor&#39;s disaster declaration for East Palestine, Ohio?
PETE BUTTIGIEG: &quot;I don&#39;t know all the legalities of the emergency management process&quot; <a href="https://t.co/5Dj6m6Em0q">pic.twitter.com/5Dj6m6Em0q</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1749548434947010788?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 22, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Buttigieg replied, &#8220;Look, leaving aside — I don&#8217;t know all the legalities of the emergency management process, I do know what we can do as a department to make sure that railroads are safer. We&#8217;ve been taking action on everything from focused inspection of railroads, to making sure that there&#8217;s better hazardous material-related regulations, to just investing in better railroad infrastructure.&#8221;
Biden <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/09/20/executive-order-on-ensuring-the-people-of-east-palestine-are-protected-now-and-in-the-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> an executive order in September instructing FEMA to designate a federal disaster recovery coordinator to &#8220;oversee long-term recovery efforts in the affected communities and conduct a comprehensive assessment of unmet needs of the affected communities in recovering from the derailment beyond the cleanup work directed by EPA.&#8221; A coordinator, Jim McPherson, was <a href="https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/special-reports/train-derailment/fema-appoints-coordinator-recovery-efforts-east-palestine-toxic-train-derailment/95-1019191e-d9ce-463f-8373-0eec065caf91" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appointed</a> later that month. But no <a href="https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/special-reports/train-derailment/biden-norfolk-southern-accountable-ohio-derailment/95-46dc5fca-9626-4c64-94b5-1c772a383854" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disaster declaration</a>.
Tapper also confronted Buttigieg on why Biden has not visited East Palestine since the derailment in early February of 2023 — a question which has been <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1748089612382134759" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posed to the White House many times</a> over the past year, often answered by statements about how the president was planning to go at some point but did not get around to scheduling it.
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JAKE TAPPER: &quot;[Biden] still has not visited East Palestine, Ohio. I don&#39;t know why that is — that doesn&#39;t seem to make much sense to me &#8230; why wouldn&#39;t he just go to East Palestine?&quot;
BUTTIGIEG: &quot;I don&#39;t have any updates&quot; <a href="https://t.co/s7OWEghsI7">pic.twitter.com/s7OWEghsI7</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1749548939781734701?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 22, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Biden &#8220;still has not visited East Palestine, Ohio. I don&#8217;t know why that is — that doesn&#8217;t seem to make much sense to me,&#8221; the CNN anchor said. Tapper asked why Biden would not go to East Palestine and &#8220;use the bully pulpit&#8221; to get <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senators-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-improve-rail-safety-after-ohio-train-crash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bipartisan legislation</a> from Brown and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) to increase railroad safety regulations passed through Congress.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t have any updates on the scheduling front for the White House but what I can tell you is it shouldn&#8217;t take anything more than we&#8217;ve already seen happen for Congress to act,&#8221; Buttigieg said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know why we have to persuade anybody to do something that members in both parties claim to care about, which is to make our railroads safer.&#8221;

CNN’s Tapper Confronts Buttigieg Over East Palestine Train Disaster

CNN's Tapper Confronts Buttigieg Over East Palestine Train Disaster

Cabinet

East Palestine

Jake Tapper

Joe Biden

Mike DeWine

Ohio

Ohio Train Disaster

Twenty-one states, led by Kentucky Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/daniel-cameron" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daniel Cameron</a>, are challenging a new rule from the Biden administration that would mandate that states create emission standards and report back to the federal government on their progress. 
The rule from the Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) would mandate that state departments of transportation come up with goals to reduce CO2 emissions. The Republican attorneys general say that rule is unconstitutional and would harm rural areas where more driving is necessary. 
“President Biden is unconstitutionally ramming his radical climate agenda through administrative agencies that lack Congressional authority to implement such actions,” Cameron <a href="https://www.kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=AttorneyGeneral&amp;prId=1492" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “We will not stand by while this administration attempts to circumvent the legislative process.”
The rule, which is <a href="https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/states-sue-biden-administration-over-highway-emissions-rule?utm_source=daily&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">set</a> to go into effect on January 8, &#8220;requires State departments of transportation (State DOT) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPO) to establish declining carbon dioxide (CO2) targets for the GHG measure and report on progress toward the achievement of those targets. The rule does not mandate how low targets must be.&#8221;
The FHWA will also be <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/12/07/2023-26019/national-performance-management-measures-assessing-performance-of-the-national-highway-system" target="_blank" rel="noopener">empowered</a> to “assess whether State DOTs have made significant progress toward achieving their targets.”
A  joint <a href="https://www.ag.ky.gov/Press%20Release%20Attachments/Complaint%20(as%20filed).pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">complaint</a> was filed on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky by Cameron and the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
&#8220;Congress has not given FHWA or DOT authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions,&#8221; the complaint says. &#8220;Nor can the Agencies compel the States to administer a federal regulatory program or mandate them to further Executive policy wishes absent some other authority to do so — which is lacking as to this rule.”
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The complaint challenges President Joe Biden, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the FHWA, and FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt. It says that the rule is unconstitutional and violates the principles of federalism. 
Montana AG Austin Knudsen said the rule was another aspect of the Biden administration’s attempt to implement a “radical green agenda.”
&#8220;This rule is another unlawful and overreaching regulation by the Biden Administration to force the President’s radical green agenda onto Americans regardless of the costs,” Montana AG Austin Knudsen said. &#8220;This one-size-fits-all approach might work for the Washington, DC bureaucrats who cooked it up, but it won’t work for Montana.&#8221;

President Biden Returns To The White House

Biden Admin Sued Over Rule That Mandates Emissions Standards For States

Carbon Emissions

Climate Change

Daniel Cameron

Department of Transportation

Kentucky

Florida Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ron-desantis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ron DeSantis</a>&#8216; administration took a shot at the Biden administration in a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg this week, suggesting that the administration was intentionally slow-walking a plan that would allow the use of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, which can include &#8220;flying cars,&#8221; and was instead allowing France to take the lead in the sector.
Jared W. Perdue, P.E., Secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), said that the department takes &#8220;great pride in our ability to attract, identify, and implement innovative solutions to grow and maintain our state’s robust transportation system&#8221; which he said was vital for the state&#8217;s continued rapid growth.
&#8220;Thanks to the leadership of Governor DeSantis, Florida continues to invest in transportation at record levels, recognizing the direct link between high-quality infrastructure and economic growth,&#8221; Perdue said. &#8220;Given Florida’s unprecedented growth, FDOT is working to identify new opportunities to keep our supply chain moving and the nearly 23 million residents and 137 million visitors who travel to the state annually.&#8221;
The letter said that the DeSantis administration quickly took interest in Advanced Air Mobility (<a href="https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/aim_html/chap11_section_6.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AAM</a>) systems — a new sector of the aerospace industry which seeks to safely and efficiently integrate highly automated aircraft into the National Airspace System (NAS) — over two years ago, which are responsible for &#8220;utilizing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to move people and goods or provide services,&#8221; the letter said.
Perdue said that Florida created a group of over 50 stakeholders responsible for determining how the system would be used in the state.
&#8220;Last month, Florida released a report detailing our efforts, equipping our public and private sector partners to embrace AAM as soon as the technology is ready to launch,&#8221; the letter said. &#8220;Unfortunately, Florida faces one roadblock to begin putting our plans into motion: the continued delay of your Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).&#8221;
Perdue called out the FAA&#8217;s stated &#8220;acceptable timeline&#8221; for finalizing the implementation of the system, which is 2028, noting that it allows the U.S.&#8217; competitors, like France, to showcase their technology first.
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&#8220;America’s competitors, like France, are outpacing the U.S. in effectuating this emerging technology now,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Perhaps this is a deliberate delay by the Administration to allow France the spotlight of deploying this cutting-edge technology at the 2024 Summer Olympics. No one can know for certain given the FAA’s absent sense of urgency surrounding the topic.&#8221;
Perdue said that it was vital for the U.S. to lead in developing the technologies within the sector and that it will not happen if the Biden administration continues to sit on its hands.
The letter included a copy of Florida&#8217;s extensive report on integrating AAM in the state — a plan that the DeSantis administration finalized over the summer and that called for multiple steps in the plan to have already launched.

GOP Presidential Candidate Ron DeSantis Campaigns In California

DeSantis Admin: Biden Admin ‘Deliberately’ Delaying Plan To Allow Flying Vehicles To ‘Spotlight’ France

Florida

France

Ron DeSantis

Technology

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Wednesday that cars were &#8220;going electric&#8221; whether the people were ready to go along with them or not.
Buttigieg made the comments during a CNN appearance — in response to a question about President Joe Biden&#8217;s visit to speak with striking auto workers on the United Auto Workers (UAW) picket lines in Michigan.
WATCH:
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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg responds to workers&#39; concerns over Biden&#39;s forced &quot;transition&quot; to electric vehicles:
&quot;These cars are going electric with or without us&quot; <a href="https://t.co/lj2ouOIBNp">pic.twitter.com/lj2ouOIBNp</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1707028528191988136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The Transportation Secretary referenced Biden&#8217;s appearance in Michigan and the fact that auto workers have voiced concerns about the transition to electric vehicles — and where that could leave their jobs moving forward.
Buttigieg began with a callback to his hometown of South Bend, Indiana, where he name-dropped two local UAW chapters before pivoting to talk about the economy and the transition to electric vehicles.
&#8220;Look, I come from South Bend, Indiana,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s the home of UAW Local 5 and UAW Local 9, I saw how the past generation of union auto jobs helped build the middle class build communities like the one I grew up in.&#8221;
&#8220;I also saw what happened when those factories closed,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;What the UAW is trying to do right now is to make sure that this next chapter of auto industry, which, let&#8217;s be very clear, these cars are going electric with or without us.&#8221;
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While President Biden was on the picket line in Michigan, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) made an appearance at a UAW protest in Wentzville, Missouri — where he took aim at the Biden administration&#8217;s efforts to force the auto industry to go electric &#8220;with or without&#8221; the workers.
&#8220;I&#8217;d call on the Biden Admin right now: Cancel all of your terrible electric mandates that are killing these guys and taking their jobs,&#8221; Hawley said. &#8220;And these companies &#8230; need to invest in America and in American workers.&#8221;
WATCH:
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WATCH: Hawley Joins UAW Picket Line In Wentzville, MO
&quot;I&#39;d call on the Biden Admin right now: Cancel all of your terrible electric mandates that are killing these guys and taking their jobs.
&quot;And these companies [&#8230;] need to invest in America and in American workers.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/fMppoa2261">pic.twitter.com/fMppoa2261</a>
&mdash; Senator Hawley Press Office (@SenHawleyPress) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenHawleyPress/status/1706701723325145193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2023</a></blockquote>
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RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/obamas-car-czar-blasts-biden-for-joining-auto-worker-picket-line">Obama&#8217;s &#8216;Car Czar&#8217; Blasts Biden For Joining Auto Worker Picket Line</a>

Transportation Secretary Buttigieg Testifies In House Oversight Hearing

Pete Buttigieg: ‘Cars Are Going Electric, With Or Without Us’

Pete Buttigieg: 'Cars Are Going Electric, With Or Without Us'

Energy

A top administration official defended President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> on Sunday amid a large spike in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-disaster-biden-admin-sets-new-border-record-as-illegal-crossings-surge">border crossings</a>.
Transportation Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pete-buttigieg">Pete Buttigieg</a> was asked about the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, particularly in Texas where the Department of Defense just <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/21/us/migrant-crossings-eagle-pass-state-of-emergency/index.html">bolstered</a> a National Guard deployment, during an interview with NBC News.
&#8220;Let me ask you about what we are seeing at the border. Recently, the administration sent <a href="https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2023-09-21/troops-mexico-border-migrants-11445230.html">800 active-duty troops</a> to the Texas border to deal with the surge in migrants, some record numbers this past week. Was the Biden administration caught off guard by this latest surge of migrants?&#8221; asked &#8220;Meet the Press&#8221; moderator Kristen Welker.
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Q: &quot;Was the Biden administration caught off guard by this latest surge of migrants?&quot;
BUTTIGIEG: &quot;What you saw was the administration, as always, responding as needed&#8230;&quot;
Q: &quot;Were you caught off guard though?&quot;
BUTTIGIEG: &quot;The president did what needed to be done.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/llontN4RTT">pic.twitter.com/llontN4RTT</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1705967911704105296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Well, what you saw was the administration, as always, responding as needed to conditions being proactive where necessary,&#8221; Buttigieg responded.
Welker pressed the issue. &#8220;Were you caught off guard, though?&#8221; she asked again.
&#8220;Look, the president did what needed to be done. And often that involves a rapid response, like the rapid response that this administration directed. But also what we see is a political dynamic where some people seem to prefer that the problem continue, rather than to do something to actually solve it,&#8221; Buttigieg said.
&#8220;And I have to say, that kind of reminds me of what&#8217;s going on in the funding fight, where some of the very same people who would line up to take a shot at the administration over something like air travel disruption, are also trying to disrupt us from training more air traffic controllers,&#8221; he added, alluding to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mike-lee-argues-congress-should-avoid-government-shutdown">spending fight</a> in Congress ahead of a possible government shutdown.
The new military deployment was announced in the midst of reports about <a href="https://twitter.com/RepTiffany/status/1704137551571828886">illegal crossings</a> <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/22/us-border-migrant-families-biden">spiking to nearly 9,000 a day</a> and Eagle Pass, Texas, <a href="https://www.epbusinessjournal.com/2023/09/eagle-pass-besieged-by-migrants-declares-state-of-emergency/#:~:text=Eagle%20Pass%20Mayor%20Rolando%20Salinas%2C%20Jr.%20declared%20a%20Local%20State,and%20U.%20S.%20federal%20government%20to">declared</a> a state of emergency.
Government data released last week showed authorities encountering migrants more than 304,000 times around the nation in August, a number which was over <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-disaster-biden-admin-sets-new-border-record-as-illegal-crossings-surge">50,000 more</a> than the month before.
While Republicans have <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4213128-gop-governors-push-biden-on-border-shelters-are-full-food-pantries-empty/">criticized</a> Biden for not doing more to secure the border, Democrats have also gotten fed up as big cities across the country — and far away from the border — feel the crunch of an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nyc-mayor-signals-break-in-direct-communications-with-biden-as-migrant-crisis-escalates">influx of migrants</a>. Among them is New York City.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) recently <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/30/us/politics/aoc-third-term-congress.html">told The New York Times</a> that immigration was &#8220;arguably&#8221; the Biden administration&#8217;s &#8220;weakest issue.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kjp-responds-to-aoc-biden-has-done-more-to-secure-border-than-anybody-else">In response</a>, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre argued that Biden &#8220;has done more to secure the border and to deal with this issue of immigration than anybody else.&#8221;
Meanwhile, Biden has <a href="https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/watch-biden-blames-exploding-border-crisis-on-maga-republicans/">accused</a> &#8220;MAGA Republicans&#8221; of &#8220;gutting&#8221; the immigration system and undermining border security.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg

Buttigieg Claims Biden ‘Did What Needed To Be Done’ With Migrant Surge

Buttigieg Claims Biden 'Did What Needed To Be Done' With Migrant Surge

Border Crisis

Migrants

Spanish leader Teresa Ribera went viral after she pulled a fake bike ride to a climate conference held by the European Union, a move reminiscent of U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg&#8217;s 2021 bike stunt.
Video surfaced on social media on Tuesday from the EU 2023 ES conference held in Madrid, Spain, that showed Ribera riding a bike to the conference. However, now Ribera is facing a backlash after it was revealed as nothing but reportedly a PR stunt, <a href="https://www.timesnownews.com/world/spanish-minister-teresa-ribera-rides-bicycle-to-climate-summit-after-travelling-in-jet-video-goes-viral-article-101674159" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TimesNowNews</a> reported.
According to information provided to the outlet, Ribera reportedly took a private jet and chauffeured cars to the conference — which is supposedly focused on dealing with the effects of carbon dioxide emissions on the climate — before getting out of the vehicle around 328 feet from the event and riding a bike the remaining distance to the venue.
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Lo de Teresa Ribera de hacer que llegas en bicicleta a una cumbre del clima, recorriendo apenas un centenar de metros, escoltada por dos coches gasolina blindados es otra de las imágenes que definen perfectamente a este gobierno. <a href="https://t.co/qME80Oon4z">pic.twitter.com/qME80Oon4z</a>
&mdash; Froilán I de España 🇪🇸 (@FroilLannister) <a href="https://twitter.com/FroilLannister/status/1678414874404167682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Ribera&#8217;s official title is the Minister of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge for Spain, the piece noted.
One Twitter user wrote, per the report, &#8220;Teresa Ribera&#8217;s thing about making you arrive by bicycle at a climate summit, traveling just a hundred meters, escorted by two armored gasoline cars is another of the images that perfectly define this government.&#8221;
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Spain&#39;s ecological transition minister, Teresa Ribera, reportedly flew on a private jet to attend a climate conference, traveled in a gas powered motorcade and just before arriving, got out and rode a bicycle to the event, still flanked by two security cars.
Pretty much sums up… <a href="https://t.co/m3rgMpAr0e">pic.twitter.com/m3rgMpAr0e</a>
&mdash; Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) <a href="https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1678795538781847552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Conservative host Charlie Kirk tweeted, &#8220;Spain&#8217;s ecological transition minister, Teresa Ribera, reportedly flew on a private jet to attend a climate conference, traveled in a gas powered motorcade and just before arriving, got out and rode a bicycle to the event, still flanked by two security cars. Pretty much sums up the climate cult in one scene.&#8221;
While another account tweeted that Ribera was a &#8220;climate hypocrite.&#8221;
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Climate Hypocrite. 
Far Left Spanish minister Teresa Ribera used a private jet to attend a climate conference in Madrid. 
100 yards before the venue she gets out of her limo and takes a bicycle. A security motorcade then followed her. <a href="https://t.co/Cr5jcQpvb4">pic.twitter.com/Cr5jcQpvb4</a>
&mdash; Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) <a href="https://twitter.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1678735553184006151?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Far Left Spanish minister Teresa Ribera used a private jet to attend a climate conference in Madrid,&#8221; the tweet read. &#8220;100 yards before the venue she gets out of her limo and takes a bicycle. A security motorcade then followed her.&#8221;
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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg biked to the White House for today&#39;s Cabinet Meeting, it would appear. <a href="https://t.co/XfYRB3COqm">pic.twitter.com/XfYRB3COqm</a>
&mdash; DJ Judd (@DJJudd) <a href="https://twitter.com/DJJudd/status/1377714183270240260?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2021</a></blockquote>
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In April 2021, Buttigieg was <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/04/03/pete-buttigieg-mocked-for-phony-bike-stunt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mocked</a> online for what was called a &#8220;phony&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walk-the-walk-man-fox-panel-blows-up-over-climate-enthusiast-pete-buttigieg-flying-private-at-taxpayer-expense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stunt</a> after video of his security detail delivering his bike via SUV sparked rumors that he had driven most of the way to a cabinet meeting and then biked a short distance for show.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walk-the-walk-man-fox-panel-blows-up-over-climate-enthusiast-pete-buttigieg-flying-private-at-taxpayer-expense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8216;Walk The Walk, Man!&#8217;: Fox Panel Blows Up Over Climate Enthusiast Pete Buttigieg Flying Private — At Taxpayer Expense</a>

Teresa Ribera

Spanish Leader Goes Viral After Pulling A Buttigieg With Fake Bike Ride

Spain

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg attacked the Christian web designer who the Supreme Court sided with last week in striking down a Colorado law that would have required her to design a website for a same-sex wedding.
In a 6-3 decision in the case of <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/21-476_c185.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">303 Creative LLC v. Elenis</a>, the Court cited the First Amendment in ruling that Lorie Smith could not be forced by state civil rights law to design websites that run counter to her sincerely-held religious beliefs.
Buttigieg made the remarks during an appearance on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union&#8221; with host Dana Bash when asked if there was any merit to the majority opinion written by Justice Neil Gorsuch.
&#8220;No, there isn&#8217;t,&#8221; Buttigieg, who has no background or education in law, claimed. &#8220;And I think it&#8217;s very revealing that there&#8217;s no evidence that this web designer was ever even approached by anyone asking for a Web site for a same-sex wedding.&#8221;
&#8220;Matter of fact, it appears this Web designer only went into the wedding business for the purpose of provoking a case like this,&#8221; he claimed. &#8220;And, in that sense, I think there&#8217;s something in common between this Supreme Court ruling and what we&#8217;re seeing happening in state legislatures across the country, which is kind of a solution looking for problem, in other words, sending these kinds of things to the courts and sending these kinds of things to state legislatures for the clear purpose of chipping away at the equality and the rights that have so recently been won in the LGBTQ+ community.&#8221;
WATCH:
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When asked for his thoughts on SCOTUS decision in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, Pete Buttigieg claims without evidence that Lorie Smith &quot;only went into the wedding business for the purpose of provoking a case like this.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Ln6KTqsfbe">pic.twitter.com/Ln6KTqsfbe</a>
&mdash; Kevin Tober (@KevinTober94) <a href="https://twitter.com/KevinTober94/status/1675548280892129280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Buttigieg Attacks Christian In SCOTUS Case: Only Went Into Business To ‘Provoke A Case Like This’

Courts

LGBTQ

Supreme Court

A section of Interstate 95 in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/philadelphia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Philadelphia</a> collapsed on Sunday when a tanker truck carrying a petroleum-based product caught fire beneath an overpass, according to officials.
Despite the traffic snarl, and reports of explosions, there were no reports of injuries as of press time.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said efforts were underway to identify any individual or individuals who may be caught in at least one trapped vehicle, per <a href="https://twitter.com/KellyRuleTV/status/1668004558465802240" target="_blank" rel="noopener">local media</a>. 
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🚨<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UPDATE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UPDATE</a>: Watch as drone video shows the Major collapse of the northbound lanes of I-95, as police has closed both directions According to one reporter they are still Hearing loud blasts or bangs underneath where the tanker is <a href="https://t.co/ArFad85bq7">pic.twitter.com/ArFad85bq7</a>
&mdash; R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) <a href="https://twitter.com/rawsalerts/status/1667879557263773696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
Authorities blocked off a two-mile radius around the area, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/i-95-collapse-fire-philadelphia-interstate-overpass-road-closed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to CBS Philadelphia</a>. Officials urged commuters to take alternate routes or consider different forms of transportation.
&#8220;For now, please avoid the area and follow the direction of the first responders on the scene,&#8221; Shapiro said.
Shapiro said the northbound side of I-95 completely collapsed and could take “some number of months&#8221; to rebuild, local media <a href="https://twitter.com/KellyRuleTV/status/1668005488947068928" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Brad Rudolph, a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesman, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/11/us/philadelphia-i-95-collapse-vehicle-fire.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> said a truck was driving on an offramp when a crash or other incident caused the fire.
&#8220;That structure quickly collapsed with the heat of the fire as big as it was,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And then the southbound structure was also shut down because it was compromised by the fire as well.&#8221;
Rudolph said authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash that led to the inferno and collapse.
&#8220;It seems like it was a vehicle accident,&#8221; Rudolph added. &#8220;That ramp can be tricky if you&#8217;re going at a high rate of speed.&#8221;
Several explosions were heard in the area, which Philadelphia Fire Department battalion chief Derek Bowmer attributed to fuel runoff or gas lines that could have been compromised by the accident, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/philadelphia-interstate-i95-highway-collapse-fire-a90c5e3dd85de025050229bb6a37b780" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per the Associated Press</a>.
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I-95 is CLOSED in BOTH directions between Cottman and Academy due to an earlier tanker truck fire under I-95. The fire has caused major structural damage to the highway, so expect it to be closed for a very long time.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PhillyTraffic?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PhillyTraffic</a> <a href="https://t.co/m1IcTTVDyV">pic.twitter.com/m1IcTTVDyV</a>
&mdash; TTWN Philadelphia (@TotalTrafficPHL) <a href="https://twitter.com/TotalTrafficPHL/status/1667861534544998402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Dominick Mireles, the director of the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management, warned of possible &#8220;environmental impacts&#8221; in the nearby Delaware River, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/11/us/philadelphia-i-95-collapse-vehicle-fire.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to The New York Times</a>.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg <a href="https://twitter.com/SecretaryPete/status/1667899119820480512" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he has been keeping tabs on the situation.
&#8220;Closely monitoring the fire and collapse on I-95 in Pennsylvania. I‘ve been in touch with [Federal Highway Administration] and spoke with Gov. Shapiro to offer any assistance that USDOT can provide to help with recovery and reconstruction,&#8221; Buttigieg said in a tweet.

US-ACCIDENT-TRANSPORT-HIGHWAY-PHILADELPHIA

Tanker Fire Leads To I-95 Collapse In Philly

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia

The COVID pandemic exposed the weakness of America’s supply chain. Over-regulation, congested ports, and supplier shortages all combined to drive up the price and lead times of the products the United States imports from around the world. The supply chain has recovered, for the most part, as the global economy has slowed and shippers began utilizing ports on the East and Gulf Coasts, alleviating the congestion in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. 
Today, however, the supply chain is once again teetering on the brink of a catastrophe, this time at the hands of labor unions and mother nature.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which represents approximately 22,000 West Coast dock workers, reached a tentative agreement with an “association representing the U.S. West Coast employers of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/west-coast-port-union-employers-reach-tentative-agreement-some-issues-2023-04-20/">port laborers</a> on some key issues,” in April 2023. These negotiations have been dragging on for nearly a year, and the contract between the “Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the union expired on July 1, 2022.”
The deal has yet to be ratified, and there are still many open issues that remain to be resolved. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-02/la-oakland-port-terminals-shut-over-congestion-labor-issues?cmpid=BBD060523_TRADE&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_term=230605&amp;utm_campaign=trade">Last week</a>, members of the ILWU effectively “shut down operations at some marine terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Similar actions shut down or severely impacted terminal operations at the ports of Oakland, Tacoma, Seattle, and Hueneme.”
The COVID-driven congestion of West Coast ports, combined with the threat of labor actions by dock workers there, have driven many supply chain professionals to divert shipments to the Gulf and East Coasts of the United States. In fact, according to Bloomberg, “West Coast container volumes were down 10% in the first quarter of 2023, compared to the same period in 2019. Gulf ports saw a 43% increase in goods over the same period.”
But ports in the Gulf and East Coasts may find themselves on the outside looking in. A significant drought is lowering the water level of Gutan Lake in Panama and  the Panama Canal, resulting in both weight limits and rising surcharges for vessels traversing the canal.
The Panama Canal Authority has reduced the draft (how deep a ship can sit in the water) from 50 feet to 44 feet, which can reduce a ship’s payload by up to 40%, per <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-02/inflation-rates-may-stay-high-if-panama-canal-drought-snarls-supply-chain?cmpid=BBD060523_TRADE&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_term=230605&amp;utm_campaign=trade" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomberg</a>. Some ocean carriers began charging per-box container fees of $300-500 on June 1 in response to draft limits. Cargo rates will “rise on other routes if low water levels for shippers to find <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/06/02/panama-canal-water-levels-drought-inflation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">alternatives</a> — especially in the peak shipping months of August and September when retailers build inventory ahead of the holiday shopping season.”
If the Panama Canal continues to see its depth decrease, and the cost of shipping via the canal rise, companies will have to either utilize the Suez Canal to service East and Gulf Coast ports or rely on West Coast ports — the same ports that are under threat of a work stoppage.
Interestingly, the challenges faced by the Panama Canal could contribute to inflation in the United States, forcing the Federal Reserve to continue increasing interest rates. Steamship companies are raising rates and imposing surcharges for companies shipping via the Panama Canal. Since ships will carry approximately 40% less cargo, companies will need to ship more containers, failing to take advantage of full container load pricing. This will drive inflation. In fact, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261560622001747" target="_blank" rel="noopener">research</a> shows that a 20% increase in shipping costs will raise the inflation rate by 0.15 percentage points one year later.
A West Coast dock workers’ strike, combined with shrinking water levels in the Panama Canal, would have a devastating impact on the U.S. supply chain and the nation’s economy.
One person missing from this discussion is Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. Perhaps ‘Mayor Pete’ has once again gone on vacation, as he did during the negotiations with railroad workers in the Fall of 2022.
Jim Nelles is a Navy veteran and supply chain consultant based in Chicago. His articles have appeared in the Washington Examiner, Newsweek, Foxnews.com, and the Daily Wire. He has served as a chief procurement officer, chief supply chain officer, and chief operations officer for multiple companies.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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