Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) demanded that President Joe Biden ask for the resignation of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg over his handling of the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment.
While focusing on the train derailment as an example of Buttigieg’s “gross level of incompetence and apathy,” Rubio alleged that it was only the latest example of a two-year pattern.
“For two years, Secretary Buttigieg downplayed and ignored crisis after crisis, while prioritizing topics of little relevance to our nation’s transportation system,” Rubio wrote in a letter to Biden.
“It is painfully clear to the American people that Secretary Buttigieg has little regard for the duties of the Secretary of Transportation,” he added.
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He accused Rubio of grossly mismanaging the East Palestine train derailment, thus contributing to the scale of the disaster.
“At no time has that been more apparent than the past two weeks. Secretary Buttigieg refused to acknowledge the disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, until his intentional ignorance was no longer tenable,” he wrote.
“Even after acknowledging the tragedy, he continues to deflect any accountability for the safety of our nation’s rail system. The circumstances leading up to the derailment point to a clear lack of oversight and demand engagement by our nation’s top transportation official,” he continued.
“Unfortunately, this is part of a two-year long pattern. During historic maritime and surface transportation disruptions in 2021, Secretary Buttigieg was completely absent,” the senator added. “Amidst an impending possible rail strike last year, Secretary Buttigieg left the country to vacation in Portuguese wine country. Near misses in commercial aviation, as well as recent system failures, including the one that shutdown air travel in Florida in January, indicate that serious and persistent problems across the DOT are not being sufficiently remedied. I do not have confidence that Secretary Buttigieg is capable of keeping the American people safe.”
Rubio’s criticisms reflect a growing tide of disillusionment with Buttigieg’s handling of his position. Two major crises rocked the Department of Transportation, an agency not used to being in the public spotlight, in just two months.
“His problem has been from the beginning, no matter the controversy, that he’s late to the situation,” Marc Clauson, a professor at Cedarville University in Ohio, told the Washington Examiner. “It’s almost as if he’s waiting to see how the political winds are blowing before he says anything.”
Several other leading political figures have leveled similar criticism against Buttigieg, including Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), and former Vice President Mike Pence.
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Rubio concluded by saying that a failure to dismiss Buttigieg would be a betrayal of Biden’s inaugural promise.
“For two years, the transparency and accountability that you promised to obsessively uphold during your inauguration has been nowhere to be found. The incompetence and failure within your administration cannot continue to be ignored when Americans’ health and safety are at risk,” he wrote. “I hope you will change course in order to uphold your so-far-unmet promise to the American people by requesting the immediate resignation of Secretary Buttigieg.”
