Buttigieg falsely suggests East Palestine derailment is Trump's fault

By 
 February 18, 2023

The East Palestine, Ohio toxic train derailment disaster that still feels like its being ignored by the U.S. government is one of the most alarming issues of the day. 

However, according to Breitbart, Transporation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the Cabinet official who essentially oversees the whole of the U.S. railway system, still won't take accountability and instead, is blaming Donald Trump.

The secretary's latest excuse for his lack of response to the situation came out this week as the Biden administration faces increased pressure to act.

Breitbart thoroughly debunked Buttigieg's ridiculous claims that a Trump-era "braking" rule is part of why the U.S. government is "constrained" in enforcing certain rules that theoretically could have prevented the massive derailment.

Debunking the lies

We should be used to lies from Biden and his top Cabinet officials at this point, but this one was so egregious and such a slap in the face to the residents of East Palestine that Breitbart felt compelled to expose the truth.

On Tuesday, Buttigieg stated: "We’re constrained by law on some areas of rail regulation," and cited "the braking rule withdrawn by the Trump administration in 2018 because of a law passed by Congress in 2015."

Breitbart's fact-check stated:

While it is true that in 2018 the Department of Transportation (DOT) withdrew a proposed rule requiring trains carrying certain dangerous chemicals to use electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes, this rule would not have applied to the train that derailed in East Palestine on February 3.

Breitbart added:

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy announced on Thursday that if this particular rule were to have gone into effect, the mandate would have applied only to trains classified as high-hazard flammable trains.

And because the train was not classified in that manner, it wouldn't have mattered in this particular instance -- a fact that the Biden administration and some of its allies in the media refuse to acknowledge.

What's the latest?

The situation on the ground in East Palestine has local and state residents worried sick about what it could mean for the future of their drinking water and overall health.

Numerous local residents have taken videos and pictures of dead and sick-looking wildlife, along with videos of chemical sheens on the top of local water sources.

It took two weeks and insane amounts of public pressure for the Biden administration to approve a FEMA response to the disaster, which was finally approved on Friday, just hours after former President Donald Trump announced a future visit to the area.

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