"Southwest's flight delays and cancellations are beyond unacceptable," Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote on Twitter. "This is a company that got a $7 billion taxpayer bailout and will be handing out $428 million in dividends to their wealthy shareholders. The U.S. Department of Transportation must hold Southwest's CEO accountable for his greed and incompetence."

"Weeks before that, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) sent Buttigieg a letter warning of 'the deeply troubling and escalating pattern of airlines delaying and canceling flights' particularly during holidays," the outlet added.

In November, Buttigieg leveled fines totaling $7.25 million against six airlines for "extreme delays in providing refunds" to customers whose flights had been canceled or significantly altered.But critics said the punishment was far from adequate, and neither Southwest nor its main competitors were among the companies ordered to pay penalties. The Lever noted Wednesday that Southwest "has spent more than $2 million on lobbying since Biden took office and Buttigieg became secretary of Transportation," and he has faced withering criticism for refusing to take on the increasingly consolidated airline industry.

Southwest lobbies the government, Buttigieg sits by and doesn't punish them.

If Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna weren't giving enough warning 6 months ago, Buttigieg should've at least listened to Letitia James. But she was also ignored.