Here's How Pete Buttigieg Got Mocked for Biden's $7.5 Billion 'Massive Failure'

Social media users criticized and ridiculed U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg regarding the limited deployment of electric vehicle charging stations nationwide during the Biden administration's tenure over the past three years. In November 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which earmarked $7.5 billion for electric vehicle charging initiatives.

Among these, $5 billion was allocated to establish the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, focused on deploying a network of chargers along major highways per Newsweek. The administration aims to reach half a million chargers by the end of the decade, with initial construction underway as part of the ongoing development process.

During his appearance on CBS News' Face the Nation on Sunday, May 26, Buttigieg was questioned, "The Federal Highway Administration says only seven or eight charging stations have been produced with a $7.5 billion investment that taxpayers made back in 2021. Why isn't that happening more quickly?" by host Margaret Brennan. Buttigieg answered, "So the president's goal is to have half a million chargers up by the end of this decade."

"Now, to do a charger, it's more than just plunking a small device into the ground. There's utility work and this is also a new category of federal investment. But we've been working with each of the 50 states, every one of them is getting formula dollars to do this work," he continued.

He also reiterated by adding, "Again, by 2030, 500,000 chargers. And the very first handful of chargers are now already being physically built. But again, that's the absolute very, very beginning stages of the construction to come." Buttigieg received mockery on platforms such as Twitter for the slow progress in building electric vehicle charging stations following his comments. Criticism emerged from diverse users, including Simon Ateba, Chief White House correspondent at Today News Africa, who labeled it a "massive failure" by the Biden administration. As he wrote in a post on the X platform, "BREAKING- MASSIVE FAILURE BY BIDEN -- Only 7 EV charging stations produced in 3 years instead of 50,000 per year to meet the goal."

Meanwhile, the RNC Research X account managed by the Republican National Committee (RNC), posted the video and wrote, "Pete Buttigieg has a VERY tough time trying to explain why 'only 7 or 8 [electric vehicle] charging stations have been produced with the $7.5 BILLION investment that taxpayers made back in 2021.'" Many social media users voiced their frustration and disbelief over the slow progress towards the goal of 500,000 chargers by 2030. However, the speed at which this goal is achieved will undoubtedly be subject to scrutiny and discussion among stakeholders and the general public. It is also to be noted that criticism is imperative in the holistic development of government schemes to achieve goals without any hurdles shortly.