Silicon Valley Rep. Blasts Buttigieg Over Southwest Fiasco

SANTA CLARA, CA — A Bay Area congressman has taken aim at the Biden administration over its handling of the Southwest Airlines fiasco.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Santa Clara) has emerged as the leading voice of congressional progressives openly criticizing Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg over his handling of the Southwest airlines holiday travel fiasco.

The airline’s cancellation of around 13,000 flights since Dec. 22 has impacted more than 1 million passengers, The Associated Press reports.

Khanna said the widespread chaos at airports across the county could have been averted had Mayor Pete followed through on calls from progressives demanding accountability from air carriers.

Khanna called for “bold action” in a statement the congressman posted on Twitter.

“Nearly six months ago @BernieSanders & I called for Buttigieg to implement fines & penalties on airlines for cancelling flights. Why were these recommendations not followed?” Khanna tweeted.

“This mess with Southwest could have been avoided. We need bold action.”

Fellow progressives joined Khanna in blasting Mayor Pete.

Khanna’s tweet drew a rebuke from the cabinet secretary’s partner.

“Zero tweets on his timeline about Southwest leadership or their outdated IT system. That's politics, I guess,” Chasten Buttigieg tweeted.

Pete Buttigieg defended the DOT's handling of the fiasco in an ABC news interview.

We’ve never seen a situation, at least not on my watch, with this volume of disruptions, so this is going to take an extraordinary level of effort by Southwest,” Buttigieg told the television station.

“And we will mount an extraordinary effort to make sure that they’re meeting their obligations.”

This is not the first time Khanna has taken aim at Pete Buttigieg.

The Silicon Valley progressive expressed criticism of Buttigieg over the summer after thousands were stranded over the July 4 weekend, when he joined Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in calling for tough regulations on carriers including prompt refunds for cancelled flights.

“The Department’s incremental response so far has been lacking the urgency, imagination, and boldness to meet the moment and needs of the American people,” Khanna said in a letter to Mayor Pete obtained by the publication, Prospect.

Khanna in the letter called the DOT’s approach to regulating airlines “timid.”

“The administration should realize that this type of enforcement action will rally people to appreciate what their government can do on their behalf. This is a solvable problem.”