Pete Buttigieg Provides Answer On Why He Did Not Visit East Palestine Sooner

Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg During a visit at the train derailment site in East Palestine (Ohio) that he didn’t visit sooner because he wanted to give federal investigators space to examine the crisis.

All residents within a mile of the Feb. 3 derailment had been evacuated by both local and state authorities. started To reduce the chance of an explosion, a controlled burning of industrial chemicals was done on the vehicle. This could have caused shrapnel to be released into the small community. Vinyl chloride is a known human carcinogen and was released from five train cars as massive plumes visible in eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania.

Buttigieg stressed during a Press conference On Thursday, East Palestine’s lawmakers called for new regulations to regulate trains carrying hazardous materials. Buttigieg answered a reporter’s question about whether he should have been there sooner. “desire to be involved and engaged and on the ground” His “desire to follow the norm” The National Transportation Safety Bureau will handle the situation.

“I think the most important thing is, first of all, making sure that the residents here have what they need,” He appreciated it. “and making sure we do something for the future.”

Buttigieg, who oversaw a number high-profile incidents in infrastructure during his tenure, said that he welcomes discussion about his response to the derailment. “But I don’t want people pointing to the process as a way to get away from the fundamental questions of rail safety, regulation, and accountability,” He said, “and whether we’re going to make it tougher or whether we’re going to allow it to continue being watered down.”

Bipartisan backlash was previously experienced by the official who failed to make public the train derailment more than a week after it occurred. Buttigieg finally spoke out. Comment A social media post that claimed he is addressing the issue on February 13th, 2014, led to the derailment “concerned about the impacts” Local families “in the ten days since their lives were upended through no fault of their own.”

Buttigieg went to East Palestine the day after Donald Trump. Visited As a gesture of appreciation, the community donated aid and purchased McDonald’s food for the first responders. Residents Interview Fox News reported that Buttigieg will be visiting. “way too late.”

“They always say they care about the forgotten and ‘the little guy.’ They don’t care,” One resident stated. “When they care about the people is when they’re on TV. That’s when they care about us,” Another. “When it comes to real solutions and real problems, they’re nowhere to be found.”

While President Joe Biden is not yet in East Palestine, he did make a clandestine stop to Ukraine Monday to support the nation’s war against Russia. Trent Conaway, East Palestine’s mayor, described the mission in Eastern Europe as “a very important and meaningful one.” “slap in the face” During another Interview Fox News.