A handful of Republicans rescued Pete Buttigieg from disclosing information about his use of private jets at taxpayer expense. 

An amendment to hold the Transportation secretary accountable was proposed by Mary Miller (R-Il.) as the House voted on a bill to re-authorize the Federal Aviation Administration - but the amendment failed with 10 Republicans crossing the aisle.

Three Democrats, Reps. Yadira Caraveo (D-Co.), Ted Lieu (D-Ca.), and Katie Porter (D-Ca.) voted for the amendment.

Republicans save Buttigieg

Buttigieg has taken at least 18 flights on the FAA's private jets, at taxpayer expense, Fox News has reported.

Of course, Buttigieg isn't the first jet-setting liberal busybody to come under fire for climate hypocrisy - but his case is particularly galling because of the decrepit state of commercial aviation, which Buttigieg oversees at the DOT.

A rise in cancellations, delays, and near-collisions at airports has left commercial travelers frustrated and afraid, while putting the FAA in the spotlight. The House voted to reauthorize funding for the embattled agency for five years on Thursday, with an overwhelming margin of 351-69.

“Secretary Buttigieg and President Biden’s policies have created chaos within the FAA,” Miller said on the House floor. “Under the Biden administration, we saw the first full ground stoppage of all flights since September 11."

“Taxpayers deserve to know where Secretary Pete was jetting off to on a private jet while our constituents were dealing with canceled and delayed flights,” she added.

Aviation overhaul

One Republican who voted against forcing Buttigieg to disclose the flights, Troy Balderson (Oh.), said he voted in error. The amendment failed in a 219-216, so Balderson's vote would not have made a difference. Still, he asked the clerk to change it.

The other nine Republicans who voted "no" were Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Brandon Williams (Ny.), David Joyce (Oh.), Garret Graves (La.), Jack Bergman (Mi.), Jennifer Kiggans (Va.), Marcus Molinaro (Ny.), and Sam Graves (R-Mo.), who chairs the House Transportation committee.

Another amendment to add more flight paths to and from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington D.C. was shot down.

Thursday's bill was advertised as a response to the problems plaguing the industry, which is suffering from a critical labor shortage. The bill would raise the retirement age of pilots from 65 to 67, over the objection of the nation's largest pilot union, and boost funding to hire air traffic controllers.

Another proposal to soften training requirements was rejected. The tweak would have allowed new pilots to count time in flight simulators toward a 1,500 flight hours requirement.