J.D. Vance demands answers on Ohio train derailment

Ohio’s Republican Sen. J.D. Vance said he is ‘certainly not’ satisfied with Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg’s handling of the train derailment in East Palestine. 

‘He’s more concerned about racism and white construction workers,’ Vance told DailyMail.com. 

Explaining what he’s looking for out of the Transportation Department, Vance said: ‘I’d like to see more investigations. I’d like to see some openness about what the regulatory failure was.’ 

Buttigieg has said on Twitter his agency is supporting ongoing investigations into the fiery 50-car derailment and will work to ‘ensure accountability.’  

But the 41-year-old Transportation secretary took heat on Monday for failing to address the derailment that spilled toxic chemicals and forced thousands to evacuate during remarks at the National Association of Counties Conference.   

He did speak out about the lack of diversity in construction. 

During his remarks Buttigieg accused construction sites of not hiring workers that look like the communities they’re building for. 

‘We have heard way too many stories from generations past of infrastructure where you got a neighborhood, often a neighborhood of color, that finally sees the project come to them, but everyone in the hard hats on that project, doing the good paying jobs, don’t look like they came from anywhere near the neighborhood,’ Buttigieg said.  

Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg tweeted that his agency was working to ‘support’ investigations of Ohio train derailment that spilled toxic chemicals and forced thousands to evacuate

He also praised infrastructure projects in the works throughout the nation, calling it an ‘exciting time’ as the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law pours funds into the transportation sector. 

Later in the evening Buttigieg put out a tweet about the derailment: ‘I continue to be concerned about the impacts of the Feb 3 train derailment near East Palestine, OH, and the effects on families in the ten days since their lives were upended through no fault of their own.’

He said that his department had been supporting an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). 

‘We will look to these investigation results & based on them, use all relevant authorities to ensure accountability and continue to support safety,’ he added. 

But onlookers had been waiting for the Transportation secretary to address the Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio that caused a toxic chemical leak and the evacuation of some 5,000 local residents. 

About 50 cars on a Norfolk Southern Railroad train veered off-track while traveling from Illinois to Pennsylvania. The train had been carrying toxins like vinyl chloride, phosgene and hydrogen chloride.

According to the National Cancer Institute, vinyl chloride is associated ‘with an increased risk of a rare form of liver cancer (hepatic angiosarcoma), as well as primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma), brain and lung cancers, lymphoma, and leukemia.’

Officials carried out a controlled burn of the spillage and evacuated residents within a one-mile radius of the incident. 

Residents of the small town along the Pennsylvania-Ohio border were allowed back after tests confirmed the air and water was safe. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Sunday it has not detected any concerning levels of toxins in the air quality, though the incident raises concerns about lasting ecological damage and dangerous working conditions for railroad employees. 

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has said the town’s water supply is safe but the spill has resulted in the death of fish. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimated some 3,500 fish swimming in contaminated streams died from the incident. 

Smoke billows up from the wreckage of a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio 

This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023.

Buttigieg’s hesitance to publicly address the matter was pointed out on social media. 

‘He jokes about balloons while ignoring East Palestine, OH,’ former Ohio state Senator Nina Turner, a Democrat, tweeted along with a video of Buttigieg making a reference to the Chinese spy balloon shot down last week over the Atlantic Ocean. 

‘We deserve better than this,’ she added. 

‘When the topic of racist highways or white construction crews comes up, Secretary @PeteButtigieg is an open book,’ David Giglio, a former congressional candidate from California, wrote on Twitter. ‘But, when an ecological disaster takes place in Ohio he is MIA.’

Former Rep. Mayra Flores, a Texas Republican, tweeted Monday: ‘Silence from the press and the federal government is dereliction of duty to the public. Where is Pete Buttigieg? How will this Ohio train derailment affect our farmers, the nearby population, and our supply chain for Americans?’

In the aftermath of the crash, some rail experts have called on Buttigieg’s Transportation Department to reinstitute an Obama-era regulation aimed at expanding the use of electronic braking technology, deemed safer than the widely used braking systems that have been around since the 1800s. 

Rail lobbyists had successfully pressed the Trump administration to repeal the 2015 rule that required newer, safer electronic braking systems in some trains that were transporting hazardous materials. 

‘East Palestine railroad derailment will have a significant negative impact on the health and wellbeing of the residents for decades and there is almost zero national media attention. We need Congressional inquiry and direct action from @PeteButtigieg to address this tragedy,’ Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., wrote on Twitter Monday night. 

 ‘Fully agree,’ Sen. Ted Cruz replied Tuesday morning. 

‘So do you support reinstating the rail safety rules that Trump repealed—while Norfolk Southern executives made millions and spent billions on stock buybacks— and expanding the safety rules to cover trains that carry these chemicals?’ Omar asked him.