Pete Buttigieg Sideswipes Blame, now Acknowledges Ohio Train Disaster but Blames Donald Trump

Eleven days after the derailment of a train in East Palestine, Ohio it seems Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is ready to talk about it. He shared a tweet thread addressing the derailment but not the controlled release of toxic chemicals into the environment.

Buttigieg tweeted, “In the wake of the East Palestine derailment and its impact on hundreds of residents, we’re seeing lots of newfound or renewed (and welcome) interest in our work on rail safety, so I wanted to share more about what we’ve been doing in this area:”

He then decided to highlight investments made in rail safety, non of which made an impact in East Palestine.

“We are making historic investments on rail safety through funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, work that accelerates this year and continue in the years to come.”

We are making historic investments on rail safety through funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, work that accelerates this year and continue in the years to come.

— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) February 14, 2023

He later in his tweet thread passes the blame for what happened in East Palestine to Donald Trump in true Biden Administration fashion.

Buttigieg shared, “We’re constrained by law on some areas of rail regulation (like the braking rule withdrawn by the Trump administration in 2018 because of a law passed by Congress in 2015), but we are using the powers we do have to keep people safe.”

He added, “And of course, I’m always ready to work with Congress on furthering (or in some cases, restoring) our capacity to address rail safety issues.”

And of course, I’m always ready to work with Congress on furthering (or in some cases, restoring) our capacity to address rail safety issues.

— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) February 14, 2023

It is worth noting that Buttigieg had made no prior moves to reinstate the ECP Break Rule before this derailment. It seems he is only trying to deflect blame from the issue at hand.

Shortly after the derailment  Norfolk Southern released vinyl chloride, a dangerous colorless gas into the air to prevent a potentially disastrous explosion. Local residents were told to evacuate at the time but a few days later were told they could safely return home.

Currently, only the air is being tested and not the water of the Ohio river. Republican Governor of Ohio Mike DeWine has seemed to send conflicting messaging about whether it is safe or not to be there.

Since then the reports of fish dying off in the Ohio river have shown up on social media as well livestock and house pets have died or shown unusual behavior since the release of the dangerous chemical. This has brought forth questions if it is actually safe to be back in East Palestine.