Ohio train derailment: Vance tells Buttigieg to ‘stop blaming Donald Trump’ for chemical disaster

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Criticized by Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) on the Department of Transportation’s response to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, called on Secretary Pete Buttigieg to stop blaming the former administration for the disaster.

Vance on Thursday visited the site of a train crash that released plumes of toxic chemicals into the atmosphere in eastern Ohio, telling the press that he would call on Congress to “legislate a solution to this problem.” But he also took aim at Buttigieg, who has been criticized by Republicans for taking until this week to respond to the Feb. 3 accident.

JD Vance, a Republican running for an open US Senate seat in Ohio, speaks to reporters following a debate with other Republicans at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, Monday, March 28 , 2022.

Paul Vernon/AP

FOR PETE: BUTTIGIEG IS GONE AGAIN

“The Department of Transportation, your Department of Transportation, has things it can do. Stop blaming Donald Trump, a man who hasn’t been president in three years, and use the powers of the federal government to do the things that are necessary to help people. in this community,” Vance said.

Buttigieg outlined the investments his department is making in rail safety in a tweet thread Tuesday, but he also blamed the former president for overturning proposed safety regulations.

“We are constrained by law in some areas of rail regulation (such as the braking rule that was repealed by the Trump administration in 2018 due to a law passed by Congress in 2015), but we use the powers we have to keep it safe the people,” he said. “And of course, I’m always ready to work with Congress in advancing (or in some cases, restoring) our capacity to address rail safety issues.”

Chemicals released during the crash could contaminate water sources from West Virginia to Illinois if they end up in the Ohio River. Vance urged residents to drink only bottled water until the extent of the contamination is better understood.

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Vance’s fellow GOP senators have criticized Buttigieg’s handling of the disaster.

“Look, I don’t think he’s out on the trains. But at the same time, he seems completely absent when there are disasters on his watch,” Sen said. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the Washington Examiner. “For two years, there’s been mess after mess in the transportation world under Secretary Buttigieg. At some point, you have to ask, ‘What does this guy have to do to get fired?'”

Vance’s trip came the same day Ohio’s other senator, Sherrod Brown (D), visited the area along with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan.

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