"I do think we need to zoom out a little bit," he said: "And I know people want to make this ideological. In March, she told Trump rally attendees in Georgia that Pete Buttigieg can take his electric vehicles and his bicycles, and he and his husband can stay out of our girls bathrooms. The following month, she said that mom and dad have been replaced by Chasten and Pete Buttigieg and their designer babies. You know, to be honest, there are other members of Congress that I pay more attention to when Im thinking about opinions that really matter or ideas that are going to be critical to engage with., Transportation Sec. He definitely punched above his weight as a presidential . The act includes incentives in the form of tax credits, he argued, that would make owning an electric vehicle more affordable. 1 requirement to sign up. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Monday hailed the massive Panasonic battery plant planned for De Soto as part of a wave of industrial production centered on electric vehicles that is spurring an American renaissance in manufacturing. Advertisement The part of the quote that jumped out at me and, I bet, jumped out at you too is the word "emasculate." Buttigieg Slammed for Urging Electric Car Buying to Counter Gas Prices. New York Post, 29 Nov. 2021, https://nypost.com/2021/11/29/buttigieg-slammed-for-urging-electric-car-buying-to-counter-gas-prices/. America has never been a country to live in the past. ", Buttigieg continued, "Now were actually starting to see on some models, the cost come to where, even if your car payments a little higher, your gas payment will be a little lower and you come out ahead.". On the contrary, the list of Republican officials who have attacked the Biden administrations EV agenda in similar terms is long and includes everybody from Florida Sen. Opposition to EVs also seems to run deep in the GOP base. The Blaze reporter Elijah Schaffer wrote, "And he says the quiet part out loud.". Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost? . And the real story is a bit more complicated than it might sound: EVs have fewer mechanical parts than internal combustion vehicles, which can mean they require fewer workers to assemble and (once on the road) fewer mechanics to maintain. That seems like the sort of thing Greene and her allies would support at least, if they were genuinely focused on how policies affect their constituents rather than whether the policies came from a Democratic administration. New car sales for gas and electric-powered cars are high and hot right now. It's not going to happen overnight. Still, a growth industry is a growth industry, and its impossible to look around Michigan and not see the impact. Editors Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; were reposting it here in case you missed it. U.S. senators are planning to propose legislation that would make railroads, like the one involved in last months fiery crash and toxic chemical release in Ohio, subject to a series of new federal safety regulations and financial consequences. Thanks for contacting us. Pete Buttigieg, as mayor of South Bend, Indiana in 2020, was about as much a Washington outsider as they come when he ran for president. The catastrophic 3 February derailment of a nearby train . Panasonic selected Kansas to build its battery plant after a full-press court by state officials. She tweeted, "Remember this when Pete campaigns to be president in the future. "But we can't afford to drag our feet. But as the president has said and demonstrated, our administration works for every American.. The part of the quote that jumped out at me and, I bet, jumped out at you too is the word emasculate. Buttigieg is gay and the word choice, almost certainly deliberate, sounds a lot like an attempt to question his masculinity or attack his sexuality. (CNSNews.com) - Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was ready with his answer when Fox News's Neil Cavuto asked him about the widespread, hurricane-related power outages in southwest Florida. Buttigieg said the United States will be better off when it's not dependent on fossil fuels-- "a commodity that is largely being produced in foreign dictatorships," he said. Here's a quick list of cheap new ones if you're curious. Our transportation sector has reached a turning point, Harris said. During an interview on Fox News Sunday, Baier asked Buttigieg why Tesla CEO Elon Musk had not been invited to a White House meeting on tailpipe emissions. Stickers on gas pumps at a Shell Station. Americans are roasting Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg after he promoted electric vehicles in the midst of skyrocketing gas prices, which reached a record national high on Monday. What Buttigieg is trying to accomplish with electric cars is what gasoline automobiles did to the horse-drawn carriage. The market has been rapidly growing in the United States as consumer preferences change and governments heavily subsidize electrification. "The more pain we are all experiencing from the high price of gas, the more benefit there is for those who can access electric vehicles," Buttigieg told the House Transportation Committee. And that didnt just happen by chance, Buttigieg said. And although GM has discontinued the Volt, that same plant now manufactures other vehicles from GMs new, quickly expanding all-electric line which, just this past January, GM announced would lead to the creation of 8,000 new jobs in the state. You also agree to our. In November 2021, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg generated controversy by saying that using electric vehicles would allay concerns families have over rising gas prices. For Pete Buttigieg it's likely too late-politically-to act like a tough guy after keeping a low profile on the derailment for so long. Our society is sick.. That said, I'm struck by this $55,000 number that keeps going around, Buttigieg said. RNC Research, a Twitter account managed by the Republican National Committee, claimed that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg bragged in a recent interview that "high gas prices are forcing people to electric vehicles": . Buttigieg also on Tuesday defended the administrations goal of having half of all vehicles on the market be electric by 2030, as Republicans questioned whether the countrys energy grid could handle the transition. Copyright 2023 The Western Journal. . Buttigieg: Electric Vehicles Could Be 'Very Useful' During a Power Outage. "Let them eat electric cars," tweeted Hans Mahncke, co-host of "Truth Over News" on EpochTV. "This is America. The cruelty is the point, tweeted Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Some little-seen faces will be in the public eye when King Charles has his coronation in May, according to a new report. Vice President Kamala Harris made a similar pitch on Monday. All rights reserved. Heres what a city task force recommends. To them, the only problem is you. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat who represents much of the Kansas side of the metro, sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and accompanied Buttigieg to the Panasonic site. In terms of pricing, an EV is equivalent to an entry-level luxury car. As I wrote in a, , our 2018 Chevy Volt is the best car weve ever owned. Your different political beliefs. All smiles, Buttigieg claimed, "Were for cutting the cost of electric vehicles, because when you have an electric vehicle then youre also gonna be able to save on gas, but youve got to be able to afford it in the first place. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. And it seems to be working: In just the last few weeks, following the IRAs enactment, a slew of major battery manufacturers and car companies have announced they are opening new plants in the U.S. One other reason I feel good about my car is that I live in Michigan and it was built at GMs Hamtramck plant, which is smack in the middle of Detroit. Last month, we announced a $5 billion investment to build out a nationwide electric vehicle charging network, so that people from rural to suburban to urban communities can all benefit from the gas savings of driving an EV., Buttigieg says you dont have to worry about gas prices if you buy an electric vehiclesomeone should remind him how out of touch he sounds pic.twitter.com/tiJVkl7wB3, Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 7, 2022. Were attracting innovation, were building sustainable communities and were doing it around this type of investment, Davids said. Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) used the opportunity to press Buttigieg over the high cost of electric vehicles, which he noted are higher than the cost of an average compact car. Now, he's done it again by winning the top spot on the charts. House Republicans questioned Buttigieg on how Americans struggling to pay $5 per gallon for gas could afford to purchase an electric vehicle. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. Its an evil way of governing.. While Buttigieg did indeed use those words, it was in the context of touting an incentives program in the Build Back Better Act that he claims will make buying electric vehicles more affordable to lower income families. President Biden himself hailed high gas prices in May by saying they were part of an incredible transition that is taking place that, God willing, when its over, well be stronger and the world will be stronger and less reliant on fossil fuels.. Amid high gas prices, Pete Buttigieg slammed for telling Americans to switch to electric cars Gabriel Hays 7/16/2022 Critics heaped scorn upon a clip showing Department of Transportation. 27 Feb 2023 Washington, DC 32. The U.S. electric vehicle market is expected to grow from $28 billion in 2021 to $137 billion in 2028, according to a Fortune Business Insights report published last July. In an appearance Tuesday on Fox News, host Neil Cavuto asked Buttigieg what he thought of the comment. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. We are bringing EV costs down and the number of jobs in EV manufacturing up at the same time. We're in a transition. But a major goal of the Inflation Reduction Act incentives is to bring battery production into the U.S., by limiting tax credits for EV purchases to only those vehicles whose parts come largely from the U.S. and whose final assembly took place in North America. U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/natural-gas/factors-affecting-natural-gas-prices.php. ", Buttigieg emphasized, "Of course no, no, thats what you heard me say. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Heres What Happens Next. CNBC, 19 Nov. 2021, https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/19/house-passes-build-back-better-act-what-happens-next-in-the-senate.html. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Just looking at Kelley Blue Book, the price of an EV is about $55,000, he added. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Nancy Pelosi said on "Morning Joe" on Tuesday that high gas prices were mostly due to the war in Ukraine. We are proud that this new plant represents the future of manufacturing, that is the future of energy in our country, De Soto Mayor Rick Walker said. ", Breanne Deppisch, Energy and Environment Reporter, Jackson and conservative justices form unlikely alliance in Supreme Court opinions, Jimmy Carter's marathon enters its home stretch, Student borrowers advocate Biden debt relief program amid Supreme Court battle, Trump and DeSantis attend dueling Republican conferences as GOP primary field heats up, China will target the US homeland in war over Taiwan, Army leader predicts, Users recoil at new iPhone feature that slows charging when clean energy isn't used. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. HuffPost's top politics stories, straight to your inbox. Breslin, Maureen. When we're talking about something like electric vehicles, we're talking, again, about a very practical matter, which is how we get from point A to point B. Buttigieg sat down with WMBD's Matt Sheehan for a one-on-one interview on the future of electric vehicles, and a new program the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has launched to try to . Your love of freedom. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, The program calls for paying Panasonic up to 12.5% of its qualifying investment costs. Fox News' Gabriel Hays contributed to this report. "The more pain we are all experiencing from the high price of gas, the more benefit there is for those who can access electric vehicle," Buttigieg said. David Toland, who leads the Kansas Department of Commerce, have pointed to the thousands of anticipated jobs at the plant, which could transform western Johnson County into a hub of manufacturing activity, and the overall boost to the states economy as suppliers gear up for the plan. ", Stickers on gas pumps at a Shell Station. As Americans struggle to afford a tank of gas or a cart full of groceries, most of them do not have $56,000 laying around to spend on a new car. In most cases, fossil fuels still power electric vehicles. And its not just Michigan where EVs have potential to create jobs or anchor growth. This is a clear attempt to use a crisis for political benefit, and it is made worse by the fact that the crisis itself was largely caused by the Biden administration. UC Office of the President: University of California Institute of Transportation Studies, 2019. https://dx.doi.org/10.7922/G2S46Q51 Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0x28831g. Watch: Biden Needs to Be Pulled Out of Car, Then Something Fishy Happens - Was It a Disguise? In the first half of 2022, automakers announced a record $82.1 billion in investment for EV manufacturing in the U.S, according to research from Atlas Public Policy, which studies the industry.