Pete Buttigieg 'Absolutely Ready' to Be Investigated by Republicans

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is not backing down from Republican lawmakers who want to investigate him. In fact, the Democrat is welcoming the challenge and prepared to testify over "what's the right thing to do" when it comes to climate change and electric vehicles.

"I'm absolutely ready to take our case to the Hill," Buttigieg told Axios about the anticipated GOP hearings on Friday.

House Republicans have long signaled their intent to investigate administration officials over President Joe Biden's $1 trillion infrastructure bill, and when the GOP takes the majority in January, Democrats are embracing for Republicans to move swiftly as they launch a number of probes. Here is the full list of people Republicans plan to investigate.

Although Buttigieg said he wasn't blindly agreeing to appear before any congressional committee, he said he'd be willing to engage "where there is a contest over what's the right thing to do, where people object to our efforts to reduce the impact of transportation on the climate, or where people have a problem with us trying to make sure that this round of infrastructure investment is equitable."

He maintained that the massive bill passed just over a year ago targeted a "set of initiatives on infrastructure that are widely supported by the American people," and pointed out that it was made possible thanks to a bipartisan effort.

The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, joins a small group of officials who have publicly said they would testify in front of Republican-led committees.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the outgoing head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) who oversaw the nation's COVID-19 response, and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have also indicated they would comply with the GOP's probes.

"I have no trouble testifying—we can defend and explain everything that we've said," Fauci, who has become somewhat of a Republican boogeyman over COVID restrictions, told reporters at his last White House press conference last month.

Neither Buttigieg nor Fauci have had trouble sparring with Republican lawmakers. Earlier this year, Fauci engaged in a heated debate with Kentucky Senator Rand Paul over the origins of COVID-19. In addition, a video of the doctor calling Kansas Representative Roger Marshall a "moron" also went viral.

In the summer, Buttigieg publicly clashed with Texas Representative Troy Nehls after he was asked about Biden's ability to serve as president and whether Cabinet members have spoke of implementing the 25th Amendment, which would be invoked if the president is removed from office, resigns or dies. If any of those instances were to happen, the vice president would then become president.

"First of all, I'm glad to have a president who can ride a bicycle," Buttigieg said. "And, I will look beyond the insulting nature of that question and make clear to you that the president of the United States...is as vigorous a colleague or boss as I have ever had the pleasure of working with."

House Republicans, like Missouri Representative Sam Graves, the ranking member of the House Transportation Committee, have already accused Buttigieg and the Biden administration of "pursuing its own woke priorities" in the infrastructure package.

In a September letter addressed to the transportation secretary, Graves alleged that Buttigieg's department and the White House were "implementing these policies that violate the spirit of law," and asked Buttigieg to provide documents about the role the White House had over transportation policies.

Graves and Kentucky Representative James Comer, the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, also launched a probe about the federal spending in the bill back in March, requesting that White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu hand over all documents and communications related to the spending.

Newsweek reached out to Graves for comment.