Problems are piling up with no end in sight for Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
His botched handling of the Ohio train derailment landed him in hot water.
Now Pete Buttigieg’s week went from bad to worse after he was handed this devastating news.
Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is in the hot seat after he fumbled the government’s response to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
After toxic chemicals were released into the air and water supply, he was nowhere to be found.
Buttigieg waited ten days to publicly comment on the disaster while he took time to attend a conference to complain about the number of white men in the construction industry.
The Transportation Secretary waited weeks after the disaster to finally visit East Palestine after former President Donald Trump visited the town first.
To do damage control, he tried to falsely blame Trump for the derailment over a braking rule that was changed during his administration.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy corrected Buttigieg and pointed out that the rule wouldn’t have applied to the type of train in East Palestine.
Buttigieg, a former small city Mayor, is in way over his head in his current job.
Now, House Republicans are adding to Buttigieg’s woes over the East Palestine disaster.
The House Oversight Committee is launching an investigation into the Department of Transportation’s response to the East Palestine train derailment.
The GOP wants to know why Buttigieg’s response to the disaster was so slow.
Committee chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) requested documents and communications related to Buttigieg’s response, records from when he learned about the derailment and any changes to train maintenance and procedures since he took office.
Also requested were documents and communications from the NTSB about their investigation into the derailment.
“This incident is an environmental and public health emergency that now threatens Americans across state lines,” Comer wrote to Buttigieg. “Despite the U.S. Department of Transportation’s responsibility to ensure safe and reliable transport in the United States, you ignored the catastrophe for over a week. The American people deserve answers as to what caused the derailment, and DOT needs to provide an explanation for its leadership’s apathy in the face of this emergency.”
During an appearance on The Ingraham Angle on Fox News, Comer put Buttigieg on notice over his botched handling of the disaster.
He explained that residents of East Palestine are worried about the effects of the toxic chemicals and that the federal government doesn’t appear to be concerned about the town.
“We just have a lot of questions, and this administration has been too busy to provide answers for the American people,” Comer continued. “The president is out in Ukraine promising more tax dollars to Ukraine, to protect their border, when our border is not secure . . . So, we want to know exactly who’s in charge and what decisions were made and when they were made.”
The House Republican investigation is another major headache for Pete Buttigieg while he deals with the fallout from the East Palestine disaster.
Renewed Right will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.