WH Press Secretary: No Plans for Biden to Visit East Palestine, Ohio After Train Derailment
(CNSNews.com) – President Biden has no plans so far to visit East Palestine, Ohio, the scene of a train derailment that leaked hazardous chemicals into the environment, the White House said Thursday.
When asked whether the president is satisfied with the pace of the federal response on the ground and why he hasn’t decided to visit the area, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pointed out that the EPA was “on the ground within hours” of the derailment.
“First of all, when the derailment happened on February 3rd, as I said at the top, the Environmental Protection Agency was on the ground within hours” at 2 a.m. the next morning on Feb. 4, “taking charge and dealing with what was occurring,” she said.
Jean-Pierre pointed out that Biden reached out to the governors of Ohio and Pennsylvania and offered federal assistance and directing his team to stay on top of this as long as it takes.
While in Poland, the president was “getting updates and focusing on what was happening in East Palestine while he was doing incredibly important work,” she said, adding that the CDC, DOT, FEMA, and the EPA “have all been on the ground, working in lockstep, working with the local officials,” and she said that will continue until they aren’t needed on the ground.
Jean-Pierre said that Biden is satisfied with the federal response to the derailment.
She said that Norfolk Southern will be held accountable for the derailment.
“Secretary Buttigieg has also written to Norfolk Southern to make clear that the industry’s pattern of resisting safety regulations must change, and he’s calling on the industry and Congress to join the administration in implementing that — implementing that approach,” Jean-Pierre said.
When asked whether the president has spoken to the mayor of East Palestine, the press secretary said, “I don’t have a call to read out or a planned conversation.”
When asked whether the president is going to Ohio, Jean-Pierre said, “At this time, I don’t have anything to read out or announce on a travel to Ohio.” She said that people should “feel at ease” that the president has taken this “very seriously.”
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