MANCHESTER, N.H. – Former presidential candidate and U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made a stop at the Puritan Backroom and Conference Center on Feb. 19 to praise U.S. Senate Candidate Chris Pappas and meet with New Hampshire residents.
Despite New Hampshire’s key role in the Presidential Primary process, Buttigieg declined to talk about the 2028 U.S. Presidential Election and said his current focus is on candidates who will be on the ballot in 2026.
Buttigieg felt that Pappas’ approach to his time as the Representative to New Hampshire’s First Congressional District reflects the style of Granite Staters as a whole and that he could represent a new generation of U.S. Senators equipped to face new challenges such artificial intelligence.
“I’m going to continue to go wherever I think I can be helpful and elevating attention to issues I believe in and Chris Pappas is a great example of a candidate I believe in,” said Buttigieg.
The stop was one of several made by Buttigieg in New Hampshire for candidates such as Pappas and U.S. Representative Maggie Goodlander (D-NH-02).
Buttigieg and Pappas expressed concern over recent news about a potential U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility proposed in Merrimack. Pappas attacked the reaction of New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte, comparing situations in Maine and Mississippi when plans for ICE facilities were withdrawn after concerns were lodged by U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS).
“She could have shown courage and leadership and I don’t believe that she did. I’ve been in contact with people in Merrimack over the last couple of weeks. They have had no information from the Department of Homeland Security. I remember a time when Republicans talked about things like ‘local control’, there’s been no local control or local input here at all,” said Pappas. “So, we’re working with the community to make sure that they can be heard and figure out where we can push back and its much harder when the governor won’t take a position on this.”
Pappas said he hoped that accommodation can be made regarding current budget stalemate over funding of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, citing the importance of portions of department such as the U.S. Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and others. He also said he feels that ICE currently has no accountability and that its importance to put guardrails on controversial actions of ICE for the sake of the public as well as federal workers impacted by the budget stalemate, stating that they should not be punished because of a political breakdown in Washington.
“At the end of the day, this shouldn’t be about political leverage, it should be about getting the job done,” said Pappas. “If we see legislation come to the floor of the House, I want to see those accountability measures in place along with proper funding for all of the obligations that we have.”
However, Pappas and Buttigieg said they felt that immigration enforcement is important and the issue is not ICE itself, but the irresponsible actions of the Trump administration.
“The problem with ICE isn’t that it exists, it’s that it is being ordered to do destructive things,” said Buttigieg. “What we are seeing right now is people who have been harming U.S. Citizens and immigrants alike, harmed sometimes because agents don’t have the right training, sometimes because they’re just literally violating court orders. There have been more court orders violated by this administration’s Homeland Security Department than some departments in their entire history.”
Given that Pappas’ family owns the Puritan, there were plenty of supporters on hand that were getting dinner or a drink when Buttigieg and Pappas took their tour. One of those supporters was Matt Thibault, whose had family members work at the Puritan in the past. Thibeault said that Pappas was doing a good job in Congress and should not have a problem winning this fall’s U.S. Senate race, although he noted that he and others in his social circles have not thought much about it yet. However, he has expressed concern about the current state of the federal government as well as the national media and social media companies, who he feels amplify the messages of America’s extreme voices rather than the majority of its population living in between those political extremes.
“I think our country is in a bad place right now. We have an authoritarian leader that bypasses procedures and policies in place and seems to be ignoring the U.S. Constitution,” said Thibeault. “My head’s not in the sand, but it’s hard to keep a balance between keeping your head in the sand and not getting overwhelmed because there’s so much going on.”
At-Large Manchester Alderwoman June Trisciani and her husband Jeff Rogers were having dinner when Buttigieg and Pappas stopped by and said hello to them. Like Thibeault, Trisciani supports Pappas and felt that it’s still early in the race. Also like Thibeault, she feels that the country needs to move in a different direction.
“Overall, I strongly feel that we need to flip the (U.S.) House and the Senate,” she said. “I struggle to find any good things that the (Trump) Administration is doing, for the most part it has been bad and we really haven’t seen much done to actually help people of our community, our state, and our nation, get ahead.”