Beth Van Duyne, Nancy Mace rip Buttigieg, federal response to airline crisis
Republican lawmakers join 'Hannity' to sound off on Biden administration's handling of thousands of flight cancellations over Christmas.
A South Carolina congresswoman ripped the Biden administration's handling and response to the ongoing airline chaos nationwide, telling Fox News her children were stranded in Baltimore while trying to make it home for Christmas.
Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican from the Charleston area, called out Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, saying he should increase pressure on Southwest Airlines and audit to see how billions in taxpayer-funded relief the company received was spent, given how their network imploded over the weekend.
She told "Hannity" her role on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is key to her interest in finding answers, but also the fact her teenagers were stranded at BWI Airport in Baltimore.
"[T]his hit close to home because my kids my teenage kids got stranded in Baltimore trying to make it home on Christmas Eve. And even today, five days later, we still don't know where their luggage is right now," she said. "And so we've been personally impacted by this."
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President Biden shakes hands withDepartment of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg during an event commemorating LGBTQ+ Pride Month. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
"And I was disheartened and disappointed to hear the president, basking in the Caribbean during this crisis, could not be any more tone-deaf right now, because this has affected tens of thousands of people that can't get on trains, can't rent cars, can't recoup their flights to get home."
President Biden called an early lid around 10 a.m AST Wednesday while on vacation in St. Croix, U.S.V.I., which is an hour ahead of Washington, D.C.
Mace added Buttigieg's response has been dismal, telling Fox News that American travelers must see real recompense for what has happened to them.
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A Southwest Airlines jetliner sits at a gate on the C concourse of Denver International Airport on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Fellow Republican Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne echoed much of Mace's sentiments, telling "Hannity" that Biden is again on vacation when he is "most needed" by the American people.
She called Buttigieg unqualified to serve in his current role, pointing to the supply chain crisis early in his tenure.
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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., on Fox News. (Fox News)
"Earlier this year, we had the rail strike potential looming over us. We were going to have, again, I mean, a massive amount of hit to our economy. You're going to have municipalities that couldn't get chemicals to be able to treat their water supply. And where was Pete? Oh, that's right. He was on a family vacation in Portugal," she said.
"He could not be bothered not to go on vacation; to postpone that for the American people. This is a man who was not qualified for the job, has never really been on the job. And we've trusted him with $1.2 trillion worth of taxpayer dollars."
Guest host Jason Chaffetz added that even some Democrats are expressing outrage at the administration's handling of the chaos, with high-profile Cleveland progressive Nina Turner saying that the rail, air and supply chain crisis "is a result of small city mayor being made the secretary of transportation as a means to pad his resume for president."
Chaffetz also pointed to Biden's recent vacation in Kiawah Island, South Carolina, and numerous weekend trips to his Greenville, Delaware home.