Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took targeted aim at Republicans who have criticized him for his handling of the Ohio train derailment and its aftermath, calling them out for what he sees as hypocrisy.
“It’s really rich to see some of these folks, the former president, these Fox hosts, who are literally lifelong card-carrying members of the East Coast elite, whose top economic policy priority has always been tax cuts for the wealthy, and who wouldn’t know their way around a T.J. Maxx if their life depended on it, to be presenting themselves as if they genuinely care about the forgotten middle of the country,” Buttigieg, a former Indiana city mayor, told CNN.
OHIO TRAIN DERAILMENT: MITT ROMNEY SAYS PETE BUTTIGIEG ‘NOT READY’ FOR JOB
Buttigieg took nearly three weeks to visit East Palestine, Ohio, after a Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern freight train derailment, coupled with a subsequent controlled burn, unleashed toxic chemicals, such as vinyl chloride, into the nearby air, soil, and water. Former President Donald Trump visited the small village shortly before Buttigieg’s trip.
Buttigieg argued that a rollback of regulation on train braking systems during the Trump administration may have contributed to the catastrophe. “One thing he can do is express support for reversing the deregulation that happened on his watch. I heard he said he had nothing to do with it, even though it was in his administration,” Buttigieg said during his visit late last month, adding that Trump’s visit was “maddening.”
Trump, who rejected those claims, won Columbiana County, where East Palestine is located, with more than 70% of the vote in the 2020 general election, and, while visiting the village, heartily attacked President Joe Biden for traveling to Ukraine and Poland before visiting the East Palestine community.
Biden has not yet visited the Ohio village, only saying, “I will be out there at some point,” adding that he has spoken with every official from both parties in Ohio and that they “will be implementing an awful lot through the legislation here.”
Not only is Buttigieg under fire for his handling of the train derailment, but he is also being investigated for his alleged use of government aircraft for personal use. Lawmakers have chastised Buttigieg and argued that someone with more experience would serve the Department of Transportation better.
Buttigieg has also faced pressure from Democrats, including from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has urged him to reinstate former Obama-era railway safety regulations and hold “greedy transportation corporations accountable for putting profit over safety.”
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Several House committees are considering holding hearings about the Biden administration’s response to the train derailment.
