More Train Derailments Increase Calls for Pete Buttigieg to Resign as Transportation Secretary

The lack of involvement from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is causing upset among locals affected by the Ohio train derailment that released toxic chemicals into their air and water.

“Where’s Pete Buttigieg?” One resident asked East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway. “Where’s he at?”

“I don’t know,” Conaway replied, “Your guess is as good as me.”

Mayor Conaway also revealed that he heard nothing from the White House until Tuesday, several weeks after the derailment. 

WATCH:

Residents in East Palestine, Ohio ask: “Where’s Pete Buttigieg?”

MAYOR CONAWAY – I don’t know. Your guesses are as good as mine. Yesterday was the first time that I heard ANYTHING from The White House.” pic.twitter.com/AlKG7mncwP

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 16, 2023

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Seriously?

Yesterday, Senators Marco Rubio & J.D. Vance wrote a letter asking for a summary of the Department of Transportation’s response to the situation. 

Buttigieg’s most recent bit of information was a tweet on Tuesday night that stated that his department is “in the process” “constrained by law on some areas of rail regulation (like the braking rule withdrawn by the Trump administration in 2018 because of a law passed by Congress in 2015), but we are using the powers we do have to keep people safe.”

Later Wednesday, he answered to a Twitter Sen. Ted Cruz and Representative Ilhanomar exchange their demands for a “congressional inquiry and direct action” From Buttigieg.

He Answered By reposting comments, add “Glad to see newfound bipartisan agreement here. We could start by discussing immediate steps Congress could take to address rail safety & reduce constraints on USDOT in this area. Give us a call, we can do some good work.”

That’s the thing though, people are reaching out, in fact many important people continue to reach out yet Buttigieg has only seemed concerned with the White respondents: To the scene of the derailment.

Michael Regan, administrator of the EPA has frequently responded to Ohio’s situation and plans to travel to East Palestine. Buttigieg’s response to that? Simply retweeting Regan’s Video announcementThere were no other announcements by him to either join Regan during his visit or to make his own plans.

Response to Inquiry Fox News Digital today stated that the Department of Transportation is currently the lead investigator on the Ohio incident. They are however only in a “supporting role.”

We cannot accept what happened in East Palestine, Ohio.

And yet, Biden’s Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has been nowhere to be found. pic.twitter.com/OYeVMA4LQC

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 16, 2023

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Calls to Resign

Many critics have called on Buttigieg to step down, claiming that this event is just one of many of examples of his inability to respond like a leader.

Tudor Dixon, former candidate for governor of Michigan and someone with experience in industrial manufacturing, tweeted “Pete Buttigieg is a complete failure as transportation secretary and the latest derailment in Michigan is all the more reason he is unfit to serve.” 

Dixon was referring to a derailment outside Detroit which occurred today. Reports indicate that this train could also have been transporting toxic chemicals as well.

The editorial board of the Washington Examiner has also publicly called for Buttigieg’s resignation.

“Buttigieg is notorious for wasting taxpayers’ time on fatuities such as ‘racist roads’ and gender-inclusive pronouns while transportation infrastructure falls apart,” the editorial stated. “A hyper ambitious politician with almost no useful experience, he is desperate to shore up his frayed relations with black Democratic voters, the result of his racially divisive tenure as mayor of South Bend, Indiana.”

“If Buttigieg is serious about ‘equity,’” the piece continued, “he should resign and ask President Joe Biden to replace him with a black nominee. We are not keen on tokenism, but such a move would at least give the nation a better chance of competence at the DOT.”

Pete Buttigieg is a complete failure as transportation secretary and the latest derailment in Michigan is all the more reason he is unfit to serve. pic.twitter.com/pTHwfa7vgD

— Tudor Dixon (@TudorDixon) February 16, 2023