WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr has criticized former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg over comments regarding alleged incompetence in the Trump administration. Carr highlighted a $42.5 billion broadband initiative under the Biden administration that, according to him, has yet to deliver results.
In a post on X Saturday, Carr addressed Buttigieg: “You worked for an Administration that got $42 billion to connect millions of Americans to the Internet. 1,163 days later, that Admin exited without connecting even 1 person & without turning even 1 shovel worth of dirt.” He added, “If we need expertise in incompetence, will reach out,” accompanied by a peace sign emoji.
Carr responded to Buttigieg’s Friday post attacking the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) headed by Elon Musk for supposedly mishandling confidential information. Buttigieg posted: “Incompetence in Washington makes every American a target, regardless of how you voted. Nobody should be glad that the DOGE team—the same team that indiscriminately posted classified U.S. security data online today—needs your bank account & Social Security numbers.”
The $42.5 billion in question was allocated through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, aiming to expand internet access to underserved and rural communities. However, reports indicate that, as of late 2024, the program had not yet connected any users to the internet. States were required to submit deployment plans by 2023, with President Joe Biden likening the initiative to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1936 Rural Electrification Act. In June 2023, Biden stated, “Today, Kamala and I are making an equally historic investment to connect everyone in America. To high-speed Internet by 2030.”
Carr has consistently criticized the program’s progress. In a June post on X, he noted: “In 2021, the Biden Administration got $42.45 billion from Congress to deploy high-speed Internet to millions of Americans. Years later, it has not connected even 1 person with those funds.” He attributed the delays to additional bureaucratic requirements imposed by the administration, telling Fox Business that these “Byzantine additional set of hoops” have hindered states from accessing the funds and commencing projects.
While progress has been made on some of the broadband projects under the Biden administration, Carr noted that no projects have yet been funded with the $42.5 billion from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.
