Pete Buttigieg aims to center veterans at 5 p.m. town hall in Cedar Rapids

Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg will be in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday afternoon for a town hall focused on veterans and military families and “the recent wave of policy decisions that have negatively impacted Americans.”

“Attendees will hear directly from Buttigieg and fellow veterans on how the administration’s actions have hurt the veteran community and how veteran-led civic leadership can help push back,” according to an announcement of Buttigieg’s visit, highlighting his attention on “threats to veterans' health care, the nation's economic stability, and the democratic principles that veterans swore to defend.”

The Iowa town hall is part of a larger effort that VoteVets Action Fund has been leading to center veterans voices in postelection discourse under the Trump administration. VoteVets over the winter, for example, opened a tip line for veterans impacted by the Department of Government Efficiency that saw an “outpouring of engagement.”

A subsequent VoteVets virtual town hall attracted 2,500 RSVPs, according to the political action committee that identifies as a “home for progressive veterans and their supporters.”

The group in 2019 gave Buttigieg — then-mayor of South Bend, Indiana running for president — its first-ever presidential endorsement.

“Pete is someone who has the experience, as a war veteran, to be an exemplary Commander in Chief, because he understands and has experienced the unique global security challenges we face right now, and he has the personal understanding of our veterans’ needs,” Kate Hoit, Iraq War Veteran and senior adviser to VoteVets, said at the time.

Buttigieg’s 5 p.m. town hall in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday is among several upcoming events in battleground states featuring Democratic leaders who are seen as potential contenders, which media outlets have characterized as a pseudo-shadow presidential primary — with the actual contests still years away.

Both Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — who also ran as the Democratic 2024 vice presidential nominee — are headed to South Carolina this month, while Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., is attending a town hall in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Tuesday’s town hall in Cedar Rapids will be livestreamed on the VoteVets social media channels starting at 5 p.m.

Buttigieg’s military service spanned 2009 to 2017 — when he was an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, earning a lieutenant rank. A graduate of Harvard and the University of Oxford, Buttigieg was elected South Bend mayor in 2011 and became the first openly-gay man to launch a Democratic presidential campaign in 2019.

He won the Iowa caucuses and placed second in the first New Hampshire primary but eventually dropped out and endorsed Joe Biden.

In advance of Buttigieg’s visit to Iowa, several Republican lawmakers and organizations issued statements countering his message.

“President Trump made veterans a top priority, delivering real results — not empty rhetoric,” Jeff Kaufmann, chair of the Republican Party of Iowa, said in a statement. “Whether it was improving health care access, cutting waste, or ending DEI nonsense at the VA, he focused on honoring those who served.”

This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com