Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg arrives to attend an event on the global supply chain bottlenecks during in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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UPDATED 11:51 AM PT – Monday, October 18, 2021
As concerns over supply chain issues at America’s ports continue to grow as the holiday season closes in, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said troubles are likely to continue into 2022.
“Certainly, a lot of the challenges that we have been experiencing this year will continue into next year,” he stated. “But there are both short-term and long-term steps that we can take to do something about it.”
During an interview with CNN’s State of the Union Sunday, the Transportation Secretary attempted to put a good spin on the supply chain issues causing prices to skyrocket by saying it’s “beneficial.” Amid concerns of the upcoming holidays, Buttgieg credited the sight of empty shelves as a sign Joe Biden has “successfully guided our economy out of the teeth of a terrifying recession.”
What do the former Soviet Union, Venezuela and Joe Biden’s America share in common?
Empty shelves.#BareShelvesBiden pic.twitter.com/rngW2YHFq5
— John Dennis (@RealJohnDennis) October 15, 2021
“Part of what’s happening isn’t just the supply side, it’s the demand side,” Buttgieg asserted. “Demand is off the charts. Retail sales are through the roof. If you think about those images of ships, for example, waiting at anchor on the West Coast, every one of those ships is full of record amounts of goods that Americans are buying because demand is up, because income is up.”
He claimed our supply chains can’t keep up while also taking the opportunity to further push Democrats multi-trillion dollar infrastructure and reconciliation bills.
“Now the issue is, even though our ports are handling more than they ever have, record amounts of goods coming through, our supply chains can’t keep up,” said Buttgieg. “Our supply chains…that’s a complicated system that is mostly in private hands and rightly so. Our role is to be an honest broker, bring together all of the players, secure commitments and get solutions that will make it easier.”
Buttgieg was placed on paternity leave after adopting in mid-August and has since been missing from his post amid the crisis. This has caused heavy backlash from Republicans. Meanwhile, Republicans continue to show frustration over the crisis while emphasizing the Biden administration should be looking for solutions instead of encouraging others to purchase Christmas gifts extra early this year.
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