Trump to visit Ohio train wreck, but no sign of Pete Buttigieg

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg faces more pressure this week over the Ohio train disaster, and former President Donald Trump will visit the state on Wednesday amid calls from the GOP for Buttigieg to resign or face impeachment over the train derailment.

Ohio Republican Rep. Warren Davidson on Friday asked Buttigieg be accused on the matter, after a train derailment spewed toxic chemicals and caused residents to complain of headaches and other symptoms.

‘Wait [Buttigieg] he resigns, and if he doesn’t, you know, there’s a long list of impeachment criteria. I never would have thought that we would get to a point where we would have to remove a Secretary of Transportation, but damn, how many failures have to occur during his tenure before we call him? he told the conservative outlet Real America’s Voice.

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio is among those calling on Buttigieg to resign amid complaints about the pacing of federal resources. Under fire, the Biden Administration hosted a briefing on Friday to defend the response, but without allowing officials to speak officially.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan was at the Ohio-Pennsylvania border last week, 13 days after a Norfolk Southern train was diverted on February 3. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued an evacuation order on February 5.

Buttigieg has called for higher maximum fines for rail safety violations, but has yet to visit the small town that is still reeling from the consequences of toxic chemicals seeping into the air, soil and water.

Although the Environmental Protection Agency has declared the water safe to drink, local residents fear contaminants and possible long-term effects on themselves and their children.

But Buttigieg’s absence has raised questions from the press at administration briefings and consternation in Congress. Sources say he doesn’t want to detract from a “multi-agency” recovery effort, but there has been no official explanation beyond tweets and letters on the general response as to why he refused to go.

In his own outburst, Trump mentioned Friday’s announcement that FEMA would finally send a team.

‘Biden and FEMA said they would not send federal aid to East Palestine. As soon as I announced he was leaving, he announced a team was going,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social outlet, while taking credit for the decision. ‘Let’s hope he’s there too. This is good news because we got them to ‘move’. The people of East Palestine need help. I’ll see you on wednesday!

West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin has been among those who said he wanted to see top officials on the ground sooner.

“It’s been 13 days since a Norfolk Southern train derailed starting a dangerous chemical fire and forcing residents to evacuate,” Manchin, whose state also has a border near the spill site, said in a statement.

“While I am pleased that EPA Administrator Regan is visiting the site today, it is unacceptable that it has taken nearly two weeks for a senior administration official to show up,” he said.

The train in East Palestine, Ohio, derailed before authorities staged a “controlled explosion” to release the chemicals several of the cars were carrying.

Drone footage shows the site of a derailed freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, United States. About 50 Norfolk Southern freight train cars derailed on the night of February 3 in East Palestine, a city of 4,800 residents near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.

Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., said it was “unacceptable” that no top Biden administration officials had visited East Palestine, Ohio until Thursday, 13 days after a Norfolk Southern train was diverted.

‘Don’t forget these people. We have to keep pushing,” Ohio Sen. JD Vance said in a post about the area.

Ohio Republican Senator JD Vance has been posting videos of the local environment on Twitter, including one from a local creek. “There are dead worms and dead fish all over this water,” he says. He then scrapes the bottom of the stream with a stick to reveal the chemicals bubbling up to the surface.

Buttigieg, for his part, pressed Norfolk Southern’s CEO on Sunday to meet his obligations.

“Norfolk Southern must honor its commitment to make residents whole, and it must also honor its obligation to do whatever it takes to stop putting communities like East Palestine at risk,” he wrote.

“The arithmetic suggests that Norfolk Southern can remain extremely profitable while meeting a higher standard of safety regulation.” added.

“This is the right time for Norfolk Southern to take a leadership position within the rail industry, shifting to a stance that focuses on supporting, not frustrating, efforts to raise the bar for US rail safety regulation. .”

Buttigieg is a former presidential candidate and mayor of Indiana who moved his official residence to Michigan and was the first pick for New Hampshire Democrats in a state survey last month.

“I think it’s important to recognize that this was a serious accident and that those of us in leadership positions wanted…and needed…for our first responders to be able to devote their full attention and efforts to addressing the accident.” ‘ an administration official said at Friday’s briefing defending the response.

“While this horrible situation has received particularly high attention, there are approximately 1,000 cases a year of train derailments,” Buttigieg said in comments last week to Yahoo Finance, citing data from the Federal Railroad Administration. “Obviously they have severity levels,” 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 hit the Biden administration.

“If our ‘leaders’ are too afraid to lead, real leaders will step up and fill the void,” he wrote.

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