Transportation Secretary Buttigieg to join White House press briefing

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 19: U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks during the third annual Axios What's Next Summit at the Planet Word Museum on March 19, 2024 in Washington, DC. With a focus on the future of the workspace and how artificial intelligence will play a role in policy, news and other disciplines, the summit heard from members of Congress, Biden cabinet secretaries and media executives. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will join White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at Wednesday's afternoon press briefing.

Buttigieg and Vice Admiral Peter Gautier, Deputy Commandant for Operations for the United States Coast Guard, are expected to deliver updates on the federal government's response to the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, Maryland.

Earlier, Buttigieg told Fox News that Americans should prepare for the supply chain impacts of shipping disruptions in the Port of Baltimore. "The bridge itself carried about 30,000 vehicles a day. There are tunnels that work as alternatives, but there's going to be some impacts on traffic. The other major concern right now is the port," he said on "America's Newsroom." 

"One thing that's important to understand is, the way that the flow of cargo ships is handled is very different from something like air traffic control, where if, say, a runway goes out or there's a problem at an airport and planes have to divert, there is a single authority telling those planes what to do and where to go. It doesn't work that way with ocean shipping," the secretary explained. 

"You've got different shippers, different ports, different terminals, different cargo owners. They're under no requirement to talk to each other. But we've been using the relationships and some of the tools we have at the Department of Transportation to make sure that coordination does happen." 

Buttigieg noted the Port of Baltimore is one of largest receivers of vehicle shipments in the United States, including cars and farm equipment.