65% of voters agree with Sen. Blackburn: Buttigieg should 'get back to work or leave': poll

53% of Democrats also agreed with the Republican senator's statement.

Published: October 24, 2021 2:16pm

Updated: October 24, 2021 4:26pm

According to a Rasmussen Reports poll, 65% of voters agree with Sen. Marsha Blackburn's comment that Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg should either "get back to work or leave" after taking off work for two months of paternity leave.

The Tennessee Republican made the comment to Breitbart after Politico reported that the Transportation Secretary had been on paternity leave since August. "We're in the middle of a transportation crisis, and Pete Buttigieg is sitting at home," Blackburn said. "Meanwhile, cargo boats are unable to dock, and shelves are sitting empty. Pete needs to either get back to work or leave the Department of Transportation. It's time to put American families first."

A spokesperson for the Department of Transportation told Politico about Buttigieg's paternity leave: "For the first four weeks, he was mostly offline except for major agency decisions and matters that could not be delegated. He has been ramping up activities since then."

A majority of Democrats (53%), along with 77% of Republicans, agreed with Blackburn's statement.

Only 37% of voters view Buttigieg favorably, with 47% having an unfavorable view.

A total of 47% of voters approved of Buttigieg taking a two-month paternity leave.