Chaya Raichik, also known as “Libs of TikTok” on the internet, has been in a dispute for days with author Chasten Buttigieg, and now she’s criticizing his husband, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, alleging that he was only hired because he's gay.
During the past week, Chasten Buttigieg brought up Raichik’s appointment to the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s Library Media Advisory Committee despite her not living in Oklahoma or having a degree in library science or education.
He expressed concern that appointing people openly opposed to LGBTQ+ rights to roles influencing educational policy sends a negative message, undermining the core principles of education – safety, growth, and inclusivity.
In response, she claimed to be working to prevent kids from being influenced to be transgender in school, something that doesn’t actually occur. Chasten Buttigieg countered by saying that, as a parent, he wants qualified individuals involved in education, pointing out that Raichik has never worked as a teacher yet wields the power to ban books for an entire state.
Thus, Raichik, who lacks qualifications in transportation policy, criticized Chasten Buttigieg’s spouse's job performance.
She wrote, without providing evidence, that Pete Buttigieg got his job as Transportation Secretary merely because he’s gay. She claimed he is a diversity hire and lacks the qualifications for the role, although there is no proof of this.
Pete Buttigieg is the first and only openly LGBTQ+ Cabinet secretary, making Raichik’s assertion that gay people have historically had easy access to such positions appear unlikely.
Cabinet secretaries are often political appointees supportive of the president’s policy goals and skilled at managing organizations and media, rather than necessarily having extensive careers in their department. Buttigieg’s predecessor, Elaine Chao, was previously a banker, board member, and Labor secretary before her role as Transportation Secretary under Donald Trump.
Many people on X ridiculed Raichik’s suggested claim that she is more qualified for her job than Pete Buttigieg is.
Given Raichik’s previous far-right stance, where she has labeled nearly any LGBTQ+ person near children as a “groomer,” many of her supporters defended her with homophobic remarks.
