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The Colorado congresswoman used bigotry as she tried to make fun of the transportation secretary and his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, for raising children.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and the White House criticized Colorado U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a far-right Republican with a history of bigoted remarks, on Wednesday for taking credit for securing federal funding for a bridge in her district, despite voting against the bipartisan infrastructure bill that provided the funds.
Boebert posted a photograph on X (formerly Twitter) of herself with Glenwood Springs City Councilor and former Mayor Jonathan Godes, claiming, “Great meeting with Glenwood Springs City Councilor and former Mayor Jonathan Godes. We have secured over $51.4 million for the South Bridge. I was thrilled to hear about nearly $30 million in cost savings in addition and that my support has helped make this project a reality.”
A community note on Boebert’s post fact-checked her claim: “Boebert hasn’t secured 51.4 million dollars for this bridge. The money came from a Biden-Harris grant that is part of the ‘Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program,’ which itself is a part of the ‘Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’ which Boebert voted against.”
Buttigieg responded by quoting Boebert’s post, asking, “Congresswoman, in what way do you believe that your support helped this project? We chose it because it’s a good project, and funded it using President Biden’s infrastructure package, which you voted against.”
The White House also highlighted Boebert’s post, commenting, “One thing about Congressional Republicans… they’re going to take credit for investments they voted against.”
Boebert, who voted against the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal in November 2021, later fired back at Buttigieg, mocking him for being a gay father. “Mayor Pete, maybe you were out chest-feeding and missed my letter, but I personally wrote you about this in June 2022,” she wrote. “Only 13 RINOs [Republicans in name only] in the House voted for your Green New Deal non-infrastructure bill you are touting that wastes hundreds of millions on climate change instead of roads and bridges.” Boebert attached a letter to Buttigieg supporting the funding, but she had already voted against it.
In December 2023, the Department of Transportation announced it would spend $645.3 million from the program on projects to improve the quality of rural bridges and roads.
Boebert’s reference to “chest-feeding” was a blatant attempt to mock Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten, who are parents to adopted twins. The couple welcomed Joseph “Gus” August and Penelope Rose in August 2021 and spent many days in the intensive care unit with their children.
A person on X summarized the situation: “Nothing says MAGA politician quite like resorting to bigotry when you are called out for your lies. Then, on top of that, you make a point of admitting you didn’t vote for the funding that you are trying to take credit for while being angry about being called out for your lies.”
Examples of this perplexity among Republicans include former Fox News anchor Chris Wallace questioning whether a cabinet secretary should take parental leave, to which Buttigieg responded by explaining the importance of parental leave for all parents. In another instance, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna criticized Buttigieg’s paternity leave, leading Chasten Buttigieg to defend the right of all parents to take such leave and calling out Luna’s remarks as homophobic.
