White House calls attacks on Buttigieg over Ohio train derailment ‘pure politics’

The White House on Thursday dismissed Republican attacks on Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg over his handling of a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, as “pure politics.”

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended Buttigieg in response to GOP lawmakers who have called on him to resign and questioned his competence in the job in the aftermath of the Feb. 3 train derailment, which spilled toxic chemicals.

“There’s been a lot of bad faith attacks on Secretary Buttigieg,” Jean-Pierre said at a briefing with reporters. “And the reason why we believe it’s bad faith is if you remember, Elaine Chao … she was the head of the Department of Transportation, and when there was these types of chemical spills, nobody was calling for her to be fired.”

“Nobody was calling for what they’re calling for Secretary Pete,” Jean-Pierre continued. “It is pure politics, it is pure political stunts what they’re doing.”

Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has taken the brunt of Republican criticism of the Biden administration’s response to the Norfolk Southern train derailment, with lawmakers and conservative pundits questioning why it took until Thursday for him to visit East Palestine.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has called for Buttigieg to resign in the aftermath of the incident. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) also blasted Buttigieg last week for his failure to address the situation in his home state, ripping the secretary over comments about diversity in the construction industry.

The White House on Thursday defended its handling of the derailment, noting that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and FEMA officials were on the ground hours after the incident happened. Buttigieg traveled to East Palestine on Thursday to meet with local leaders and community members.

A Department of Transportation spokesperson said Wednesday that the timing of Buttigieg’s visit was because the EPA, which is leading the federal response, was moving out of the “emergency response phase.”

“The Department of Transportation will continue to do its part by helping get to the bottom of what caused the derailment and implementing rail safety measures, and we hope this sudden bipartisan support for rail safety will result in meaningful changes in Congress,” the spokesperson said.