by Why did President Joe Biden choose Pete Buttigieg as head of the Department of Transportation? That’s exactly what Rep. Jim Jordan took to Twitter to ask Friday as Buttigieg continues to draw criticism for his handling — or lack thereof — of a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
The Norfolk Southern derailment, which occurred on February 3, sparked health and environmental concerns because many of the 38 cars involved spilled toxic chemicals, including vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, isobutylene, and other harmful chemicals. , into the nearby area.
Jordan, R-Ohio, suggested in a tweet that Buttigieg’s hiring was “not a good idea” because he has “no transportation experience.”
“Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to hire someone with no transport experience to be Transport Secretary?” Jordan asked.
BUTTIGIEG REFUSES QUESTIONS ABOUT HIS PRESS SECRETARY REFUSES TO BE ON CAMERA IN EAST PALESTINE
United States President Joe Biden delivers remarks about his ‘Truck Action Plan’ with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on the South Lawn of the White House on April 04, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, ran against Biden during the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. He dropped out of the race, endorsed Biden, and was later selected to join the Biden administration.
He is also a former United States Navy intelligence officer.
“Secretary Pete’s response to East Palestine was a total disaster,” Jordan said in another tweet.
“But don’t worry, it was a ‘lesson learned,'” the Republican continued, citing Buttigieg’s own statement during an interview with CBS News. “Can you imagine the media reaction if a Republican tried that bogus excuse?”
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-OH, in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on February 09, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Buttigieg visited Ohio on Thursday, nearly three weeks after the East Palestine train derailment, and was also mocked for appearing to wear dress shoes while surveying the affected areas. Other officers wore heavy work boots as they waded through the muddy site of the wrecked train tracks.
Ohio Senate GOP spokesman Tom Evans wrote on Twitter, “No wonder Mayor Pete is wearing dress shoes to East Palestine.”
In another tweet, Jordan said: “The people of East Palestine have shown us once again that the DC Elites don’t get Real America.”
Pete Buttigieg, the US secretary of transportation, speaks to members of the media outside the West Wing at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Tuesday, August 16, 2022. (Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
BUTTIGIEG joked as he appeared to wear boots while on the ground in East Palestine, OHIO
Buttigieg spoke during a news conference during his trip but did not respond to the media, instead sending his press secretary, Kerry Arndt, to respond to reporters’ inquiries.
A spokesperson for the Department of Transport told FOX News Digital after the incident that “the secretary was wearing boots”.
United States Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (2nd L) visits Department of Transportation Investigators at the derailment site on February 23, 2023, in East Palestine, Ohio. (Brooke LaValley-Pool/Getty Images)
“We don’t have a record of what brand they are,” the spokesman said.
Buttigieg laid out a three-part plan to increase rail safety and accountability and made several public comments before his visit.
BUTTIGIEG BLAMES TRUMP, RUBIO IN EAST PALESTINE TV PRESENT: ‘NOW IT’S CAMPAIGN SEASON’
Buttigieg has come under near-constant criticism from Republican lawmakers and others as he struggles to clean up the supply chain crisis that has sent shipping prices plummeting under the COVID pandemic, providing clear answers to flight disruptions and Federal Aviation Administration systems break, or promptly face the train. rails in Ohio and others across the country.
Amid the backlash, Buttigieg defended his response and blamed former President Donald Trump and Republicans such as Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
Pete Buttigieg, the US secretary of transportation, speaks during a news conference near the Norfolk Southern train derailment site in East Palestine, Ohio, US, Thursday, February 23, 2023. (Matthew Hatcher/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Pete Buttigieg, the US secretary of transportation, speaks during a news conference near the Norfolk Southern train derailment site in East Palestine, Ohio, USA, Thursday, February 23, 2023. (Matthew Hatcher/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“You know, the kind of theater that Donald Trump had in Palestine was strange, but this is a community that voted heavily for him. The county where Palestine is located voted 71/29 for Donald Trump. I want that you’d think about the irony of 68/26 in 2016. This is Trump county. What do you make of the fact that he went there despite rolling back the regulations that were partly responsible for this tragedy?” MSNBC’s Joy Reid asked Buttigieg during a segment Thursday.
Buttigieg responded, “It was definitely ironic.”
“You pass regulations, you pass regulations, you weaken the power of the administration to deal with freight railroad companies, and then you show that you want to be a great friend to the people who were affected by a railroad disaster,” he said. added.
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The Biden official continued, “You know, this is someone who, as far as I know, hasn’t gone to the site of a derailment when one of those happens on his watch. And there have been thousands. Even people died. He didn’t send his Secretary of Transportation to Now that it’s campaign season, I think things are different. We were there to work. We were there to get things done.”
Rubio and other lawmakers called on Buttigieg to resign.
Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.
