According to a Daily Mail report, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg’s donors were rewarded with over $33 million in city contracts during his eight years as mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

There were 23 companies that donated to diversity hire Buttigieg’s mayoral political action committee who were later awarded millions in city contracts. Between the companies, their executives, and spouses, $253,750 were donated, resulting in at least $33,280,426 worth of contracts between 2011 and 2019.

Along with monetary contributions to his campaign, the companies gifted Buttigieg alcohol, cigars, and golf trips valued at hundreds of dollars.

For example: two firms, Abonmarche and Donohue & Associates, received hefty city contracts on the same day they donated to Buttigieg.

Buttigieg appointed Eric Horvath, a former American Structurepoint executive, as director of South Bend’s Department of Public Works. This appointment came after American Structurepoint co-owner Marlin Knowles donated more than $1,000 to Buttigieg’s campaign in 2011.

The following year, American Structurepoint received a contract for the South Bend Smart Streets Project, which reportedly had a $25 million budget.

“Now, as Secretary of Transportation, Buttigieg has access to billions, possibly trillions, of taxpayer dollars in infrastructure spending,” said Taxpayers Protection Alliance president David Williams. “This should be alarming and warrant further investigation into every donation made to Buttigieg and every contract given out by his agency.”