Senate confirms Alejandro Mayorkas to lead Homeland Security and Pete Buttigieg as transportation secretary

The Senate also voted Tuesday to confirm Pete Buttigieg as transportation secretary, making him the first Senate-confirmed LGBTQ Cabinet secretary.

Buttigieg’s confirmation elevates the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate to a top post in the federal government.

The choice vaults a candidate President Joe Biden spoke glowingly of after the primary into a top job in his administration and could earn Buttigieg what many Democrats believe is needed experience should he run for president again.

The role of transportation secretary is expected to play a central role in Biden’s push for a bipartisan infrastructure package.

Before Tuesday, just four of Biden’s 23 Cabinet-level nominees requiring Senate approval had so far been confirmed: Antony Blinken as secretary of state, Janet Yellen as treasury secretary, Lloyd Austin as secretary of defense and Avril Haines as national intelligence director.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had pushed to have Mayorkas confirmed swiftly, but Republicans argued that the nominee hasn’t been properly vetted on immigration issues and called for an additional hearing on his nomination, delaying efforts to quickly install a critical leader of the country’s national security apparatus.

Under former President Barack Obama, Mayorkas served as both the Homeland Security deputy secretary and the director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, an immigration agency within the department.

Republican pushback to his nomination sparked criticism from Democrats, with some calling it indefensible. The resistance come as as the Department of Homeland…

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