Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is blaming former President Trump for the disastrous train derailment in Ohio that was carrying toxic chemicals.
Buttigieg claimed that his agency had been taking several steps to improve rail safety through "historical investments." However, because of a Trump-era action that reversed a safety rule, the Biden agency is off the hook, according to Buttigieg,
"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," Buttigieg said in a tweet. "We're constrained by law on some areas of rail regulation (like the braking rule withdrawn by the Trump administration in 2018 because of a law passed by Congress in 2015), but we are using the powers we do have to keep people safe… and of course,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."
In 2018, the Department of Transportation (DOT) pulled out from a policy put into place three years prior that required trains carrying certain dangerous chemicals to utilize electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes, saying the technology's benefits were inconclusive.
Buttigieg has been criticized several times for not taking his job seriously enough and for ignoring warning signs that have led to disastrous outcomes, such as the holiday travel debacle that left thousands of people stranded at airports last year.
He has repeatedly shifted the blame or been conveniently absent when chaos occurs within his agency.
Several Republicans have called for him to step down, as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has pointed out the "dysfunction within the Department of Transportation."
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