Rep. Nancy Mace: Pete Buttigieg's letter to Southwest CEO is nothing, it's 'just paper'
South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace discusses the Southwest Airlines meltdown during the holidays and its impact on her family.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is facing backlash over a report that shows he traveled with his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, on a military aircraft to a European sporting event last spring.
Buttigieg traveled from Joint Base Andrews to Rotterdam, Netherlands, for the fifth Invictus Games via "MilAir Flight" on April 15 and returned two days later on a military aircraft, according to a calendar obtained by Americans for Public Trust (APT) and shared with Fox News Digital. Photos and media reports concluded that his husband, Chasten, also traveled to the Netherlands with him.
In the leadup to the event, President Joe Biden announced that Buttigieg would lead a presidential delegation of lawmakers and administration officials to the multi-sport event that is held for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women.
Pete Buttigieg (R) and his husband Chasten Buttigieg arrive for the White House state dinner for French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House on December 1, 2022 in Washington, D.C. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
But, critics on Twitter called out Buttigieg's military travel, noting that many Americans have been stranded through the holidays.
"While families’ holiday travel plans were upended by his department's failures, Buttigieg has used their tax dollars to avoid problems he created," APT tweeted.
"Wild story - to summarize, while commercial air travel has been a disaster for you: Mayor Pete has taken 18 private jet flights He took Chasten on a military plane to attend a sporting event in Europe.. with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Tom Price resigned for much less," Republican communicator Matt Whitlock tweeted.
"Your holiday flights were delayed or canceled but Pete Buttigieg brought his husband on a military aircraft to attend sporting event in Netherlands," Josh Hawley's Press Secretary Abigail Marone tweeted.
IS PETE BUTTIGIEG'S POLITICAL FUTURE GROUNDED FOREVER AFTER SOUTHWEST HOLIDAY TRAVEL DISASTER
"We can’t look into things like this until we have a Speaker," Florida Congressman Mike Waltz tweeted in response to APT's tweet, referencing the ongoing battle for Speaker of the House.
"Little Pete is the poster boy for an arrogant and detached idiocracy," tweeted American Majority founder and CEO Ned Ryun.
Under Buttigieg's leadership as transportation secretary, multiple crises have unraveled. At the end of December amid the popular travel season, Southwest Airlines canceled around 15,000 flights, stranding tends of thousands of Americans and ruining many travelers' holiday plans. Chasten came to the defense of his husband in response to criticism he received from politicians on both sides of the aisle for failing to prevent the crisis.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Chasten Buttigieg attend a reception ahead of the start of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 on April 15, 2022, in The Hague, Netherlands. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation)
The transportation secretary has been labeled hypocritical for using government private jets on at least 18 occasions since taking office, despite being a prominent advocate of climate change policies and carbon emission reductions.
Buttigieg also received backlash last year for taking a months long paternity leave with Chasten and their two newborns as the country faced supply chain shortages and for taking a vacation in Europe as railroad unions worked to negotiate a deal to avoid a disastrous strike.
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Fox News Digital's Thomas Catenacci, Timothy Nerozzi and Elizabeth Heckman contributed to this report.