WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate panel has easily advanced President Joe Biden's nomination of Pete Buttigieg to be transportation secretary, setting up a final confirmation vote for a key role in Biden's push to rebuild the nation's infrastructure and confront climate change. The Commerce Committee approved the nomination of the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor on a 21-3 vote. Buttigieg's nomination heads to the full Senate, where a vote could happen this week. Buttigieg would be the first openly gay person confirmed by the Senate to a Cabinet post. At his hearing last week, Buttigieg received bipartisan praise as he pledged an immediate focus on transportation safety while pointing to a "generational" opportunity to remake how people travel.