Transit Sec. Pete Buttigieg says he doesn't know if he will run for elected office again

On Sunday, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said he was unsure if he would ever consider running for elected office again and that during his time in office he gained a new perspective of how demanding it is to be the president.

In an interview with CBS's Face The Nation, Buttigieg was asked if he thought he would run for president again. "Well, I certainly have a new perspective on just how demanding that job is, watching President Biden deal with so many concerns, challenges, and opportunities for this country," he responded.

"I am proud to be a small part of the big team that helps him get that done,” the secretary added. "I sincerely don’t know whether I will run for elected office of any kind again.”

Mentioning his job as the Secretary of Transportation, Buttigieg said, "What I do know is that I have been asked to take on a big job." He said, "It's hard, it's rewarding, and it’s taken about 110% of what I have to give right now.”

Since taking the Secretary position in 2021, Buttigieg has been the subject of criticism as several transportation disasters have happened under his watch. The most recent was a cargo ship crashing into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, causing it to crumble last week.

Last year, several train derailments occurred, including one in East Palestine, Ohio, during which toxic fumes were released into the air. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the accident was "100 percent preventable."

Buttigieg has been heavily criticized for his claim that the road system had built in racism and that he planned to make it more "equitable." In 2022, the secretary revealed a $1 billion program to address the "racism" in the roadways. "Our focus isn't about assigning blame. It isn't about getting caught up in guilt. It's about fixing a problem. It's about mending what has been broken, especially when the damage was done with taxpayer dollars," he said at the time.

Buttigieg also oversaw a massive supply chain disaster in 2021, as the port of Los Angeles had as many as 62 ships backed up off the coast causing stores to run out of household items, on top of a surge in inflation.