“Is Pete Buttigieg the most deserving person for this job? Emphatically not… It’s a fitting turn for a man who, to his enemies, represents how America’s failing institutions reward shiny credentials and unprincipled striving above experience or demonstrated success. And yet some optimism is warranted…

“In his time as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Buttigieg was a standout on urban-design issues. He legalized accessory dwelling units (which, besides increasing housing availability, has the potential to reduce commutes), reduced and eliminated parking requirements, focused on reducing impervious surfaces (which are a major factor in urban flooding), and tried to make the streets safer for pedestrians. He pushed for a faster and more reliable rail connection to Chicago…

“There probably is some crusading reformer inside the Department of Transportation who would have made the ideal choice in the Biden administration. But that’s not what was on the menu, because the less important Cabinet jobs are political positions to reward allies… Within that framework, I think Buttigieg is an above-average choice.”
Henry Grabar, Slate

Some critique Buttigieg’s private sector experience. “Business journalist Duff McDonald, author of The Firm, a book about McKinsey, told Time magazine that McKinsey ‘might be the single greatest legitimizer of mass layoffs in history.’ Companies have always laid off workers when times are tight, but McKinsey ‘disrupted’ that convention by pushing companies to do so in prosperous times, too, he said…

“Experience at McKinsey is taken by many in government to signal that a person is smart, because of the firm’s well-known hiring preference for Ivy League whiz kids like Mayor Pete. But as the power of the grassroots left grows, that perception could change… it would be a mistake for us [on the left] to throw up our hands and give up on Biden — and not giving up means strenuously rejecting appointees like Buttigieg from companies like McKinsey.”
Liza Featherstone, Jacobin Magazine

Others argue, “Now, you may have a problem with McKinsey’s ethics, but you have to admit they know their stuff when it comes to cost-cutting. Buttigieg is therefore uniquely qualified to get to the bottom of U.S. infrastructure costs… He’ll bring a much-needed dose of managerial competence to an oft-neglected area of government policymaking. By focusing on identifying and remedying sources of excess cost in our infrastructure system, and by helping speed the transition to electric vehicles, he can have a major impact even in an era of political deadlock.”
Noah Smith, Bloomberg

“In May 1965, when being LGBTQ could land you in jail or strip you of your livelihood, Frank Kameny committed an audacious act of civil disobedience. He and a small group of other gay men and lesbians picketed the White House and State Departmentto protest discrimination in the federal government. Kameny was fired from his job as an astronomer at the U.S. Army Map Service in 1957 for being gay, thanks to a 1953 executive order from President Dwight D. Eisenhower that banned gay men and lesbians from federal jobs because he deemed them a national security threat…

“Buttigieg’s elevation Wednesday is something Kameny could have only dreamed of: America’s first openly LGBTQ Cabinet secretary-designate. A gay married man who is not only embraced by his government, but also called upon to serve in it. Just as they were on Buttigieg’s historic presidential campaign, he and his husband, Chasten, represent our nation’s promise and ideals.”
Jonathan Capehart, Washington Post