Rubio Calls for Buttigieg’s Immediate Resignation Following Ohio Derailment

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg listens to a question during a press conference following a tour of a Southside transportation hub in Chicago, Ill., on July 16, 2021. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Thursday called for the immediate resignation of U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg after the Ohio train derailment, expressing doubts about Buttigieg’s ability to ensure public safety among other issues.

In a Feb. 16 letter to President Joe Biden, Rubio accused Buttigieg of repeatedly demonstrating a “gross level of incompetence and apathy” that puts the safety and prosperity of the American people at risk.

Rubio pointed to the recent train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and several other examples of crises and issues within the transportation system that Buttigieg has allegedly downplayed or ignored.

“It is painfully clear to the American people that Secretary Buttigieg has little regard for the duties of the Secretary of Transportation,” Rubio wrote (pdf).

“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,” he continued. “Even after acknowledging the tragedy, he continues to deflect any accountability for the safety of our nation’s rail system.”

Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, gather at a town hall on Feb. 15, 2023 in the aftermath of the Norfolk Southern train derailment. (Jeff Louderback/The Epoch Times)

On Thursday, responding to footage from a town hall meeting in East Palestine in the aftermath of the derailment, Buttigieg said the DOT is standing ready for the findings of the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) investigation into the Ohio derailment.

“Look, rail safety is something that has evolved a lot over the years, but there’s clearly more that needs to be done because while this horrible situation has gotten a particularly high amount of attention, there are roughly 1,000 cases a year of a train derailing,” Buttigieg told Yahoo.

“Obviously, they have levels of severity, but where all of that points us to is a need to continue to raise the bar on rail safety. And that’s especially true when it comes to rail that involves hazardous materials,” he continued. “Now this train was subject to certain enhanced requirements because of hazardous materials on board. But obviously, none of that prevented what happened in East Palestine. It’s one of the reasons we’re going to be paying very close attention to the findings that NTSB comes back with.”

However, for Rubio, the Ohio train derailment is another example of what he called a concerning two-year pattern of neglect. He said that the circumstances leading up to the recent derailment indicate a “clear lack of oversight” and “demand engagement by our nation’s top transportation official.”

Some of the railcars that derailed when a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed are in the process of being cleaned up in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 9, 2023. (Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo)

Demanding Oversight

Rubio’s letter to Biden comes one day after he and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) wrote to Buttigieg calling on the transportation secretary to account for “oversight” of the freight train system in the wake of the Feb. 3 derailment.

On Feb. 3, just before 9 p.m., a 50-car Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials such as vinyl chloride, a cancer-causing chemical, derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Other potentially hazardous chemicals were also onboard.

According to surveillance footage, parts of the train were already on fire shortly before it derailed.

To avoid a potential explosion, Norfolk Southern conducted a “controlled release” of the chemicals on Feb. 6, which involved burning the chemicals and releasing fumes into the air.

The senators suggested that a mechanical issue with one of the train cars may have caused the derailment, and pointed to concerns raised by rail workers about precision-scheduled railroading (PSR), a cost-cutting measure used by rail companies that some view as a safety risk.

“We have voiced concerns with PSR, as well as with this administration’s prioritizing of efficiency over resilience in its national infrastructure and transportation systems,” the senators wrote (pdf).

“Derailments have reportedly increased in recent years, as has the rate of total accidents or safety-related incidents per track mile. The trade-off for Class I rail companies, of course, has been reduced labor costs, having shed nearly one-third of their workforce.”

Rubio and Vance urged Buttigieg to provide explanations regarding the Department of Transportation’s stance on several safety concerns within the next 30 days.

An environmental company is removing dead fish downstream from the site of the train derailment that forced people to be evacuated from their homes in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Alan Freed/Reuters)

Health of Surrounding Environment

In their Feb. 15 letter to Buttigieg, the senators asserted that in addition to the vinyl chloride, which was burnt off, the other chemicals are leaching into the surrounding air and water.

“While railroad crews drained and burned chemicals to prevent a major explosion, concerns have grown in the weeks since of significant damage to the health of the surrounding environment and communities in the region,” they wrote.

On Thursday, Vance went to East Palestine and filmed a video at a nearby creek demonstrating how chemicals had leaked into the environment. In the video, Vance scrapes a stick along the ground, causing an unknown oily substance to bubble up and form on the surface of the shallow water. Other footage shows a similar event.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in a statement on Feb. 14 that the agency is collaborating with its Ohio counterpart to assess the spill’s effects on surface and groundwater.

EPA Regional Administrator Debra Shore said state and local agencies are conducting tests in the Ohio River to guarantee that drinking water sources are not compromised.

ONG 52nd Civil Support Team members prepare to enter an incident area to assess remaining hazards with a lightweight inflatable decontamination system (LIDS) in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 7, 2023. (Ohio National Guard via AP)

‘No Confidence’ in Buttigieg

In his letter to Biden calling for Buttigieg’s resignation, Rubio also accused Buttigieg of misusing taxpayer funds by chartering private jets beyond allowed limits and for potential political travel, and of being “completely absent” during maritime and surface transportation disruptions in 2021 and the impending rail strike in 2022.

“Near misses in commercial aviation, as well as recent system failures, including the one that shut down air travel in Florida in January, indicate that serious and persistent problems across the DOT are not being sufficiently remedied,” Rubio wrote.

“I do not have confidence that Secretary Buttigieg is capable of keeping the American people safe,” Rubio wrote.

Rubio urged Biden to hold Buttigieg to the same level of accountability as any public official and uphold his promise of transparency and accountability.

The Epoch Times contact the DOT for comment.