Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is under more pressure this week over the Ohio train disaster. Former President Donald Trump is due to visit the state on Wednesday while the GOP is demanding that Buttigieg resign or be charged in the train derailment.
Ohio GOP Rep. Warren Davidson challenged Buttigieg on Friday to be accused In addition, a train derailment spewed toxic chemicals, prompting local residents to complain of headaches and other symptoms.
‘I hope [Buttigieg] resigns, and if not, there is a long list of impeachment criteria. I never thought we would see a point where we would have to impeach a Minister for Transport, but Daggone, how many mistakes have to happen under his watch before we name it? he told the conservative newspaper Real America’s Voice.
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is among those who have called on Buttigieg to resign amid complaints about the pace of federal funding. Under fire, the Biden administration organized a briefing Friday to defend the response but did not allow officials to comment on the files.
Transport Sec. Pete Buttigieg is under fire for failing to visit East Palestine, Ohio, after a train derailment led to the release of toxic chemicals
EPA Administrator Michael Regan was on the scene at the Ohio-Pennsylvania border last week, 13 days after a train from Norfolk Southern went off the track on February 3. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued an evacuation order on February 5.
Buttigieg has called for higher maximum penalties for railroad safety violations but has yet to pay a visit to the small town still reeling from the aftermath of toxic chemical infiltration into the air, soil and water.
While the Environmental Protection Agency has declared the water safe to drink, local residents fear contamination and possible long-term effects on themselves and their children.
But Buttigieg’s absence has drawn press questions at administrative meetings and consternation in Congress. Sources say he doesn’t want to distract from a “multi-institutional” recovery effort – but there has been no official explanation other than tweets and letters about the general response as to why he has refused to go.
In his own blast, Trump brought up Friday’s announcement that FEMA would finally be sending a team.
“Biden and FEMA said they would not send federal aid to East Palestine. As soon as I announced I was leaving, he announced a team was going,” Trump wrote on his outlet, Truth Social, commending the decision. “I hope he’s there too. That’s good news because we got them to “move”. The people of East Palestine need help. See you on Wednesday!’
Democratic West Virginia Senator Senator Joe Manchin was among those who said he wanted to see top officials on the ground sooner.
“It has been 13 days since a train from Norfolk Southern derailed, causing a dangerous chemical fire and forcing residents to evacuate,” Manchin, whose state also has a border near the site of the spill, said in a statement.
“While I’m glad EPA Administrator Regan will be visiting the site today, it’s unacceptable that it took nearly two weeks for a senior administration official to show up,” he said.
The train in eastern Palestine, Ohio, derailed before authorities conducted a “controlled explosion” to release chemicals that were being carried in several train cars
Drone footage shows the location of a derailed freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, USA. About 50 Norfolk Southern freight cars derailed on the night of February 3 in eastern Palestine, a city of 4,800 near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border
Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., said it was “unacceptable” that no senior Biden administration official had visited eastern Palestine, Ohio, as of Thursday — 13 days after a train from Norfolk Southern went off the track
“Don’t forget these people. We need to keep pushing,” Ohio Senator JD Vance said in a post about the area
Ohio GOP Sen. JD Vance posted videos of the local area on Twitter, including one of a local creek. “There are dead worms and dead fish everywhere in this water,” he says. He then scrapes the bottom of the creek with a stick to reveal chemicals that bubble up to the surface.
For his part, Buttigieg on Sunday urged the CEO of Norfolk Southern to live up to his commitments.
“Norfolk Southern must live up to its obligation to keep its residents healthy — and must also live up to its obligation to do whatever it takes to endanger communities like eastern Palestine,” he wrote.
“The arithmetic suggests Norfolk Southern can remain extremely profitable while maintaining a higher standard of safety regulations.” he added.
‘This is the right time for Norfolk Southern to take a leadership position within the rail industry and shift to an attitude focused on supporting, not frustrating, efforts to raise the standard of US rail safety regulations.’
Buttigieg is a former presidential candidate and former Indiana mayor who has officially moved to Michigan and was the top Democratic pick from New Hampshire in a state poll last month.
“I think it’s important to recognize that this was a serious accident and those of us in leadership positions wanted … and needed … our emergency response personnel to be able to devote their full attention and efforts to managing the accident,” said an administration official at the Meeting on Friday and defended the answer.
“Although this horrific situation has garnered a lot of attention, there are approximately 1,000 incidents of train derailments each year,” Buttigieg told Yahoo Finance in a comment last week, citing data from the Federal Railroad Administration. “Obviously they have degrees of severity,” he added.
Donald Trump Jr. announced his father’s trip on Twitter Thursday night, making it clear that the former president would use the trip to lash out at the Biden administration.
“When our ‘leaders’ are too afraid to actually lead, real leaders will step up and fill the void,” he wrote.
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