Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) shamed the Biden administration for failing to pay much attention to the people of East Palestine, Ohio, after the train derailment that left a forced burn of vinyl chloride and a toxic chemical spill in its wake.
In a conversation with Newsmax on Saturday, the lawmaker stated that Biden officials only started seeing the people’s plights after former President Donald Trump visited the community last week.
It was "amazing" how quickly the Biden administration started responding to the aftermath of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, after former President Donald Trump traveled to the eastern Ohio community, Rep. Warren Davidson said. https://t.co/e4qWsYFT84
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) February 26, 2023
“I’m glad that the whole country is finally paying attention because it’s a really important story. And it took a lot to get everyone to pay attention, including our federal government,” Davidson stated.
“It was amazing how quickly they started responding once people like President Trump started paying attention, and you see how well he was received,” he continued, touching on Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited last Thursday, a day after Trump’s visit that provided encouragement and supplies to the people.
Criticizing Buttigieg’s dedication to his role as secretary of Transportation, Davidson said that the transportation secretary is not up to the task and has “wanted to focus on anything and everything but transportation.”
“He really wanted a job that he thought was going to be no drama and just a high-profile cabinet position, but it hasn’t turned out to be that way. There’s been a lot of problems on his watch, and it’s really a failure in leadership on his part,” the GOP leader opined.
Davidson, speaking to Real America’s Voice on Thursday, floated the idea of impeaching Buttigieg or making him resign over his incompetency and poor handling of the derailment.
In the Newsmax interview, Davidson further said the Environmental Protection Agency did not come early enough. According to the lawmaker, coming to the community after the residents were declared safe to return home was not good enough as the agency was supposed to have someone “right away on the scene.”
“You would think that the federal EPA and the Department of Transportation would be some of those first responders,” he said.
Davidson’s accusations of lack of attention also spread to President Joe Biden, who has not visited and has said that he does not plan to visit the community. “Here you show the president paying attention to the situation in Ukraine and not paying attention to really much more pressing things for the people in Ohio right now,” he stated.
Referring to the president’s over-the-top concern for Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia, Davidson hopes the president realizes that his first responsibility is to the people of America and there are “plenty of issues going on here in our country.”
The lawmaker is, however, grateful that after efforts from Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, the representatives and senators, federal resources are finally “flowing.”
