Buttigieg’s star rises as $1T Biden agenda shifts toward him

By HOPE YEN, TOM BEAUMONT and JOSH BOAK
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Joe Biden gets set to sign a $1 trillion infrastructure package, many eyes are turning to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. The bill will make the 39-year-old former mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate one of the more powerful brokers in Washington. He’ll be handling the largest infusion of cash into the transportation sector since the 1950s creation of the interstate highway system. About $120 billion of the new transportation spending over five years would come in the form of competitive grants that give Buttigieg leeway in how the money is used. Former transportation secretaries say that gives him a unique opportunity to make a big imprint on everyday life.