On Saturday, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) called for an investigation into United States Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s failure to immediately respond to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
He tweeted:
We're not letting @SecretaryPete off the hook. He has blamed others for infrastructure that is well within DOT’s ambit of responsibilities. He owes our committee, residents of East Palestine, and the rest of America immediate answers.
On February 3, 2023, 38 cars operated by a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. These cars were carrying toxic materials, which had spilled over into East Palestine. The fallout from the train derailment is still ongoing and has provoked a national backlash.
Biggs’ statement echoes sentiments expressed by Republican members of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. The Republicans on the Oversight committee issued a statement on Saturday announcing their launch of an investigation into Buttigieg’s perceived failure to immediately respond to the train derailment in East Palestine. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and his Republican colleagues on the committee also sent a letter to Buttigieg demanding answers about this situation.
The Republicans who signed on to the letter include:
James Comer (R-KY)
Glenn Grothman (R-WI)
Pete Sessions (R-TX)
Nancy Mace (R-SC)
Jim Jordan (R-OH)
Paul Gosar (R-AZ)
Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
Clay Higgins (R-LA)
Jake LaTurner (R-KS)
Byron Donalds (R-FL)
Kelly Armstrong (R-ND)
Scott Perry (R-PA)
Tim Burchett (R-TN)
Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)
Lauren Boebert (R-CO)
Russel Fry (R-SC)
Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL)
Chuck Edwards (R-NC)
Nick Langworthy (R-NY)
Eric Burlison (R-MO)
In the online statement, Republican members of the Oversight committee are calling on DOT to provide all relevant documents and information connected to the train derailment.
The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the ongoing crisis that began on February 3, 2023, in East Palestine, Ohio. A Norfolk Southern freight train’s derailment and the ensuing response released highly toxic chemical materials into the air, water, and soil—forcing residents of East Palestine to evacuate. This incident is an environmental and public health emergency that now threatens Americans across state lines,” the Republican elected officials wrote. “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.
After the derailment, train crews carried out a controlled release and burn of the toxic chemicals that were being transported in the railcars. Several of these chemicals are reported to still be present in East Palestine.
The Republican members of the Oversight committee continued taking Buttigieg to task in their website statement:
One hazardous materials specialist explained, ‘We basically nuked a town with chemicals so we could get a railroad open.’ As Secretary of Transportation, you must provide transparency to the American public on this matter. Instead, you have attempted to blame others for infrastructure that is within DOT’s ambit of responsibilities.
The Republican committee members concluded by noting:
Under your leadership, DOT supported President Biden’s Infrastructure Bill, which included billions of dollars devoted to revamping America’s railways in an effort to make them safer and more efficient. Yet America now faces one of transportation’s largest failures, even while DOT seems to not lack available funding.
Amidst criticism, Buttigieg defended his department’s performance throughout the East Palestine disaster. He proclaimed the following during a visit to East Palestine on February 23:
I was taking pains to respect the role that I have and the role that I don’t have. But that should not have stopped me from weighing in about how I felt about what was happening to this community.
