Oversight Committee Probes Pete Buttigieg on Ohio Train Wreck: ‘You Ignored the Catastrophe’

The House Oversight Committee is launching an investigation into the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) response to a freight train carrying toxic materials that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month.

A majority of the committee’s Republican members, led by chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY), sent a letter Friday to DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg demanding that his department provide the committee with documents and communications it had related to the cause of the Norfolk Southern train wreck, when Buttigieg learned of it, and any guidance he received on how to respond to it.

The Republicans also accused the department’s leadership of “apathy in the face of” the disastrous derailment, which resulted in a fiery crash of train cars carrying, among their contents, loads of carcinogenic vinyl chloride.

The incident prompted an evacuation of the area, but worries remain high among residents about the possibility of exposure to toxic air or contaminated water, while the state and federal Environmental Protection Agencies continue testing in the region and releasing updates.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimated Friday that an affected five-mile waterway had turned up roughly 40,000 dead fish, the majority of which were small minnows, in the immediate aftermath of the wreck.

“This incident is an environmental and public health emergency that now threatens Americans across state lines. Despite the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) responsibility to ensure safe and reliable transport in the United States, you ignored the catastrophe for over a week,” the Republicans wrote.

Read the full letter below:

Secretary Pete Buttigieg was slow to respond to the train derailment catastrophe in East Palestine, Ohio. Oversight Republicans want to know why. https://t.co/rvhfy5CbBr

— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) February 24, 2023

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released preliminary information on the derailment Thursday but said its investigation remains ongoing.

At present, dangerous chemicals “may still be present in the area,” the Republicans wrote, noting residents “reporting dead animals, strong odors, burning sensations, rashes, and watery eyes.”

“As Secretary of Transportation, you must provide transparency to the American public on this matter,” they continued. “Instead, you have attempted to blame others for infrastructure that is within DOT’s ambit of responsibilities. … America now faces one of transportation’s largest failures, even while DOT seems to not lack available funding.”

Buttigieg, for his part, visited East Palestine for the first time Thursday, one day after former President Donald Trump made an appearance in the small town to meet with residents and first responders and raise awareness about the needs of the area.

Buttigieg, who has faced backlash and scrutiny over the incident, mainly from Republicans but also from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), contended during a press conference on his visit that residents were “getting pretty sick of the politics.”

“I’m here for the work and not for the politics,” Buttigieg said. “You can sense when you talk to local leaders and local residents that they’re getting pretty sick of the politics too and this national ideological layer that’s been added into all this when they’re just trying to figure out if they’re going to be safe.”

The extraordinary people I met in East Palestine today asked for what anyone would want in this situation – safety, support, and accountability – and not to be used for political gain. We'll keep doing the real work for as long as it takes. pic.twitter.com/cv08RkapHz

— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) February 23, 2023