February 28 2026, 08:15 
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg didn’t have to say much in response to a White House official complaining about flight delays, even though the current administration has been working to overturn passenger protections the Biden administration implemented.
Buttigieg was responding to a post on X from White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair, who also worked for the 2024 GOP presidential campaign.
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Blair was complaining about a 2.5-hour delay he experienced with American Airlines recently. He also brought up how his wife’s flight was delayed yesterday because the airline “forgot to BOOK A PILOT.”
“I’m going to take a new interest in the airline industry,” Blair posted.
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“Um,” Buttigieg responded in one post. It was enough to prompt X users to remember that one of the Department of Transportation’s most notable initiatives during Buttigieg’s tenure was requiring airlines to provide cash compensation to passengers in the event of flight disruptions that are the airline’s fault. Rules that Buttigieg had been working to implement would have required airlines to pay each passenger several hundred dollars and up to $775, depending on the length of the delays. Presumably, these payouts would have motivated airlines to prevent delays by, perhaps, making sure pilots were booked in advance of all flights.
But last year, the current presidential administration formally withdrew the compensation plan, saying that it would cause “unnecessary regulatory burdens” on the airline industry. The administration said that it would instead “allow airlines to competeon the services and compensation that they provide to passengers.”
On X, Buttigieg suggested the current White House “begin by restoring the passenger rights work you rolled back – and then seriously enforce airline laws, like we did.”
“Trust me, it gets results!”
You could begin by restoring the passenger rights work you rolled back – and then seriously enforce airline laws, like we did. Trust me, it gets results!
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) February 26, 2026
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