Saagar Enjeti says Buttigieg’s release of McKinsey client list shows he ‘caved to public pressure’

Hill.TV host Saagar Enjeti lamented Pete Buttigieg’s decision to release a list of clients he worked with during his time at international consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

“Buttigieg caved to public pressure Tuesday evening when he released the clients he worked for while at McKinsey, characterizing his work as mostly working on spreadsheets with no managerial responsibility,” Enjeti said on Thursday.

“If you take a look at the circumstances of his employment, it’s pretty clear he’s telling the truth,” he added. “But the problem isn’t the work that Buttigieg did there, it’s his attitude towards the company and the economy writ large after that experience.”

Buttigieg on Tuesday released a timeline of his three-year stint at McKinsey & Co. following mounting pressure from critics to disclose his previous clients.

According to the list provided by his campaign, Buttigieg worked with a range of clients including everyone from Best Buy to the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Defense Department.

The move came amid mounting pressure from critics and fellow Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who criticized him over a lack of transparency.

Buttigieg has emerged as a front runner in the crowded Democratic primary field.

The RealClearPolitics average of national polling shows the South Bend, Ind. mayor in fourth place with 9 percent support behind Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) who has 15.3 percent.

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) continue to hold the top spots. Biden leads with 28.5 percent followed by Sanders at 17.8 percent.

Buttigieg spokesperson Sean Savett responded to Enjeti’s remarks by pointing to several reports where Buttigieg has been critical of his former employer. 

“As somebody who left the firm a decade ago, seeing what certain people in that firm have decided to do is extremely frustrating and extremely disappointing,” Buttigieg told reporters last week. He also called reports that McKinsey & Co. had done work for Immigration and Customs Enforcement “disgusting.”

—Tess Bonn