House Republicans’ Deregulation Drive Could Be Derailed by Spate of Train Wrecks

The Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous waste that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, here photographed almost a month later, and a rash ope other train accidents this year, could make adopting a bill that would require Congress pass a joint resolution before new regulations and rules go into effect difficult to adopt this year. Alan Freed/Reuters

House Republicans’ fast-track push for federal regulatory reform could be derailed by a nationwide spate of railroad accidents, including the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio, that forced hundreds to flee their homes for days in fear that leaking toxic chemicals would explode.

With residents exposed to still-undetermined health risks from that derailment, and more than two dozen train wrecks—another Norfolk Southern train derailed March 6 in Springfield, Illinois—reported to the National Transportation Safety Board already in 2023, Democrats are fiercely opposing Republican bills targeting the “administrative state” by reforming the regulatory and rule-making processes.