Former Vice President Mike Pence ripped into Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg over his handling of the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment crisis.
Joining a growing chorus of Republicans blasting Buttigieg, Pence said his fellow Indianian has gone “AWOL.” Pence urged him to step up and help the community afflicted by the disaster, which has unleashed dangerous chemicals into the environment.
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“My question is, where’s the secretary of transportation?” Pence chided on Fox News.
“We had a supply chain crisis. And apparently, he was AWOL on that. We had the FAA … ground airplanes for the first time since 9/11. And the secretary of transportation was missing in action,” he added.
A Norfolk Southern freight train transporting dangerous chemicals such as vinyl chloride and combustible liquids derailed near Ohio’s eastern border on Feb. 3. Since then, it caught fire, prompting thousands of nearby residents to flee their homes.
Vinyl chloride has been tied to liver damage and a rare form of liver cancer, though state officials have downplayed concerns about the toxic material seeping into downgradient waterways. Officials have also been deliberating over how to clean up the mess amid concerns over the train exploding.
Buttigieg has deflected blame on the Trump administration for reversing a safety regulation.
Pence bashed Buttigieg for not being more transparent with the public and stressed that the “secretary of transportation and the president need to step up” given that it was a federal issue. Pence also commended Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) for “trying his best.”
“This is a moment where we ought to be hearing from the president, but at minimum, we ought to be hearing from members of the Cabinet that have responsibility over this area,” Pence added. “My heart goes out to all the people in that community who are asking questions, not knowing whether to be home or not to be home.”
Buttigieg and Pence have both cultivated presidential speculation, with Pence eyeing a 2024 run and the transportation secretary rumored to be contemplating one at the end of the Biden administration.
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Pence ducked questions about his presidential plans and sidestepped ones about recently announced GOP candidate Nikki Haley’s call for politicians over the age of 75 to undergo a cognitive test.
“I wish Nikki Haley well. She served our administration with great distinction. She did a great job as governor of South Carolina, and I just can’t say enough good things about her,” Pence said. “I expect she’ll have some company in their presidential field before too long. And I might be one of them.”
So far, former President Donald Trump is the only other major declared candidate in the 2024 contest. President Joe Biden is rumored to be eyeing an entry within the coming weeks.
