Pete Buttigieg has emerged as the frontrunner to become Biden's secretary of transportation, new report says

• Pete Buttigieg has emerged as a leading candidate to become President-elect Joe Biden's secretary of transportation, according to a CNN report.
• Buttigieg's nomination would elevate the profile of the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful.
• Buttigieg is widely expected to run for president again. An opportunity in the federal government would catapult any such political plans.
• If nominated, Buttigieg could become the first openly gay cabinet secretary approved by the Senate.

Pete Buttigieg has emerged as a frontrunner to become President-elect Joe Biden's secretary of transportation, according to a CNN report.

Buttigieg's nomination would catapult the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate to the upper echelons of the federal government, putting him in charge of an agency with roughly 58,000 employees.

It is widely expected that the 38-year-old Buttigieg, who represents a new generation of Democratic leadership, will run for president again. An opportunity in the federal government would give Buttigieg a valuable springboard for any future political plans, especially given the difficulties that Democrats face running statewide in Indiana - the Midwestern state that overwhelmingly supported the Trump-Pence ticket in both 2016 and 2020 and reelected Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb in November.

The discussions regarding the position are ongoing, according to CNN, but several other candidates are said to have been considered for the role, including Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles, Gov. Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island, and former Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago.

The current transportation secretary is Elaine Chao, who has served in the role since January 2017 and is the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Buttigieg's name has also come up for other Biden administration positions, including commerce secretary; US ambassador to the United Nations, a position that ultimately went to the veteran diplomat Linda Thomas-Greenfield; and secretary of veterans affairs, which Biden just filled with the nomination of the former White House chief of staff Denis McDonough.

After Buttigieg withdrew from the presidential race, Biden spoke of the former mayor in glowing terms, saying he had "unlimited potential" and even comparing him to his late son, Beau.

If nominated, Buttigieg could be the first openly gay cabinet secretary to be approved by the Senate.