Buttigieg on paid paternity leave in midst of supply chain crisis

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took two month paid leave in the midst of a supply chain crisis. Here are the details

Politico asks Can Pete Buttigieg Have It All?

Buttigieg’s office told West Wing Playbook that the secretary has actually been on paid leave since mid-August to spend time with his husband, Chasten, and their two newborn babies. 

“For the first four weeks, he was mostly offline except for major agency decisions and matters that could not be delegated,” said a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation. “He has been ramping up activities since then.” As he does that, Buttigieg will “continue to take some time over the coming weeks to support his husband and take care of his new children,” the spokesperson added.

Media Blitz

Since the disclosure, Buttigieg has been on a media blitz rampage including n MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” “MSNBC with Geoff Bennett,” CNN’s “New Day,” CNBC’s “Morning Bell,” Bloomberg TV’s “Balance of Power,” and the NPR Politics Podcast.

Is  media blitz getting anything productive done?

Cheers Anyway

Nonetheless, advocates of paternity leave cheered Buttigieg for setting an example.

“It absolutely reflects changing norms and changing needs,” said Dawn Huckelbridge, the director of the group Paid Leave for All. “I’m thrilled that the secretary did that and showed that work and family go together.”

Paid Leave For All 

Sure, why not? Let the opening salvo be for 18 months. 

On second thought, why not 4 or 5 years until free preschool kicks in?

Weak Link In The Supply Chain

Issue Insights comments on the Weak Link In The Supply Chain

The only thing more laughable than Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s claim that spending two months on paternity leave counts as “work” is that the massive infrastructure bill in Congress would do anything to fix the supply chain crisis.

In August, just as Buttigieg was clearing out for the next two months, Vice President Kamala Harris was warning that “if you want to have Christmas toys for your children, it might be the time to start buying them because the delay may be many, many months.”

Worse, Biden is now blaming the private sector for the supply chain problems – telling businesses they need to “step up” – and promising more government intervention.

Buttigieg says that the crisis is an argument for “why we urgently need to pass the infrastructure vision that the president has laid out,” because “it includes $17 billion to support our ports, and we’re seeing just how important that part of our supply chain is.”