Buttigieg: I Didn’t Visit East Palestine to Stay Out of National Transportation Safety Board’s Way

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Deadline” that he has not visited East Palestine, OH after a train derailment caused hazardous materials to leak into the environment because he was staying out of the way of the National Transportation Safety Board.

Guest anchor Ali Velshi said, “So I want to ask you, the residents of East Palestine are asking when you are going to pay them a visit. What have you got to say to that?”

Buttigieg said, “So, I am planning to visit. I have followed the norm in the first days of the crash response of staying out of the way of the independent NTSB, the National Transportation Safety Board, has the lead on the investigative part.”

He added, “But we’re now entering the phase where this is becoming a policy conversation. So, in addition to being ready to take enforcement action against Norfolk Southern to the extent that the investigation turns up any violations, it is also time for us to move forward from a policy perspective, make sure that we strengthen accountability, and strengthen rules on rail safety. Today I’ve been calling for three sets of actions, actions that the rail industry needs to change, actions that Congress can help us with, and things we are doing right now to take action in the U.S. Department of Transportation, both things we’ve been working on all along that we’re accelerating and new things we’re adding to the agenda based on some of the lessons we’ve already learned from what we saw in East Palestine.”

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