Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) penned a letter to President Biden on Thursday demanding that he fire Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg over his handling of the train derailment that dumped toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month.
The Florida Republican argued in the letter that Buttigieg’s response to derailment is just the latest example of behavior that demonstrates a “gross level of incompetence and apathy” that is putting the safety of Americans at risk.
“For two years, Secretary Buttigieg downplayed and ignored crisis after crisis, while prioritizing topics of little relevance to our nation’s transportation system. It is painfully clear to the American people that Secretary Buttigieg has little regard for the duties of the Secretary of Transportation,” Rubio writes in the letter sent to the White House.
“At no time has that been more apparent than the past two weeks. Secretary Buttigieg refused to acknowledge the disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, until his intentional ignorance was no longer tenable. Even after acknowledging the tragedy, he continues to deflect any accountability for the safety of our nation’s rail system. The circumstances leading up to the derailment point to a clear lack of oversight and demand engagement by our nation’s top transportation official,” Rubio argues.
On Feb. 3, a cargo train heading from Pennsylvania to Illinois carrying 20 cars of hazardous chemicals derailed in the small Ohio town. Residents within a mile of the accident site were ordered to evacuate and others further away were told to shelter in place as a fire emitting toxic smoke burned.
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The release of vinyl chloride, shown to cause cancer at high levels of exposure, and other chemicals into the air and ground has raised serious concerns about the future health of residents.
Buttigieg’s first public comments on the disaster didn’t come until Feb. 13, when he tweeted, in part: “I continue to be concerned about the impacts of the Feb 3 train derailment near East Palestine, OH, and the effects on families in the ten days since their lives were upended through no fault of their own.”
The former mayor of South Bend, Ind., added that the Department of Transportation “has been supporting the investigation led by The National Transportation Safety Board” and that “Federal Rail Administration and Pipelines and Hazardous Materials teams were onsite within hours of the initial incident and continue to be actively engaged.”
Rubio’s letter went on to hammer Buttigieg for being “completely absent” during the 2021 supply-chain crisis, vacationing in Portugal as a rail strike loomed, and for his extensive use of private jets.
Rubio concluded by imploring Biden to request “the immediate resignation of Secretary Buttigieg.”