AP sources: Biden picks Buttigieg as transportation chief

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to pick former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg to head transportation department, according to three people familiar with plans.

Buttigieg, one of Biden’s rivals for Democratic presidential mination, was a breakout star of primaries, sharing victory in nation’s first caucus with Bernie Sanders. He suspended his campaign before Super Tuesday and endorsed Biden.

Biden has compared 38-year-old Buttigieg to his late son, Beau, saying re's higher compliment he could pay anyone.

three people confirmed news to Associated Press on condition of anymity because y didn't want to publicly preempt president-elect's anuncement.

Transportation Department helps oversee nation’s highway system, planes, trains and mass transit and is poised to play a key role early in incoming administration.

Biden has pledged to spend billions making major infrastructure improvements and on retrofitting initiatives that can help U.S. battle climate change. He also wants to immediately mandate mask-wearing on airplanes and public transportation systems to slow spread of coronavirus.

Infrastructure spending can be a bipartisan issue, and President Donald Trump spent years promising to push a major bill through Congress that never materialized. Instead his administration moved to soften carbon emissions standards that Biden's team will likely work to undo as part of broader commitment to slowing global warming.

once most frequently mentioned early pick to head Transportation Department, President Barack Obama's former chief of staff and ex-Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, sparked strong pushback from top progressive activists. Emanuel, also a former congressman, helped oversee Obama administration's distribution of tens of billions of dollars in transportation spending as part of a massive stimulus bill approved following financial crisis — but w seems unlikely to take any position in Biden's administration.

His chances faded after progressives and civil rights leaders were very critical of Emanuel's handling of high-profile police shooting death of Laquan McDonald, a Black teenr killed by a white officer, during his time as Chicago’s mayor.