- The GOP-controlled House moved to cut Pete Buttigieg's salary to just $1 per year.
- An amendment from Marjorie Taylor Greene to do it passed via voice vote and without opposition.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives moved to cut Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg's salary to just $1 per year.
An amendment introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia passed by voice vote on Tuesday afternoon — meaning no lawmaker objected to its inclusion in a broader government spending bill dealing with Transportation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The underlying bill faces an uncertain future; the House was set to vote on final passage on Tuesday evening, but a vote was pulled at the last minute over concerns from New York Republicans over the bill's cuts to Amtrak. Instead, the House voted on the censure of Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
Even if the bill passes, it will almost certainly be blocked by the Democratic-controlled Senate, which is working on its own transportation funding bill.
Still, the measure is a sign of Republicans' ongoing animosity towards the transportation secretary, one of the more high-profile members of President Joe Biden's cabinet.
"I'm proud to announce my amendment to FIRE Pete Buttigieg just PASSED the House," Greene tweeted after the vote, mischaracterizing the nature of the amendment.
"American taxpayers should not be on the hook for paying for his lavish trips or his salary," Greene added.
BREAKING: I’m proud to announce my amendment to FIRE Pete Buttigieg just PASSED the House.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) November 7, 2023
Pothole Pete staged fake bike rides to the White House and used private planes funded by taxpayers to receive awards for the way certain people have sex.
American taxpayers should not… pic.twitter.com/9fq9XrXLV2
Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party. He ran as a presidential candidate in 2020 before being appointed to the transportation secretary role by Biden in 2021.
But he's faced a difficult time at the Department of Transportation, battling problems including waves of commercial flight cancellations, and an incident in East Palestine, Ohio, in February when a train carrying toxic waste derailed.
In February, the Department of Transportation's (DOT) internal watchdog opened an investigation into Buttigieg's use of private jets. It followed a Fox News report that claimed Buttigieg had taken at least 18 flights using private jets since taking office in early 2021.
It's not the first time Republicans have used an obscure rule allowing Congress to slash the salaries of federal employees to score points against Democrats.
In September, Greene successfully passed an amendment to a defense spending bill cutting Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's salary to just $1. That bill also stands little chance of becoming law.
Nonetheless, two politically vulnerable Democrats voted for it, and one of them — Rep. Jared Golden of Maine — told Insider at the time that he stood by his vote.
"I doubt Lloyd Austin's spending much time thinking about that," said Golden. "If he is, then he shouldn't be in that position."