Pete Buttigieg

Rule Changes

Criticizing the rollback as a gift to China and a cost to drivers

The Transportation Department's final fuel-economy rule, published September 28, sets the 2031 fleetwide target at 34.9 miles per gallon, down from 50.4 under President Biden. It also rewrites standards for model years 2022 through 2026 and ends the credit trading that let automakers buy and sell efficiency gains, starting in 2028.

Updated Oct 24

Built World

As of May 2026: Left office in January 2025 with the change of administration

Japan opened its first bullet train in 1964. Sixty years later, the U.S. still has no line meeting the international high-speed rail threshold. On April 22, 2024, Brightline West broke ground in Las Vegas on a 218-mile route for electric trains running up to 200 mph between the Strip and the Los Angeles suburbs.

Updated May 31

Built World

As of May 2026: Oversaw IIJA implementation; left office with mixed results

China just front-loaded $42 billion in infrastructure spending for early 2026—281 projects approved before the calendar even flipped. The U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed with $1.2 trillion in 2021, has spent just 21% of its funds as of December 2024.

Updated May 19