White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dodged a reporter’s question on Friday about how President Joe Biden’s “environmental justice” plan will help a small Ohio town recovering from a toxic train derailment.
Biden signed an executive order earlier Friday that establishes a new federal agency dedicated to “environmental justice” that will consider the impact climate change has on minority and low-income communities. Jean-Pierre touted the administration’s “climate agenda” when pressed by a reporter on what the order would mean “for the people in East Palestine,” according to a clip from Friday’s press briefing. (RELATED: ‘I’ll Be Out There At Some Point’: Biden Still Hasn’t Visited East Palestine 50 Days Since Promising To Go)
“I think what’s important to note about this environmental justice EO is the president’s continued support in his climate agenda, his ambitious climate agenda,” Jean-Pierre said. “He has the most ambitious climate agenda than any other president in history and one way that you can look at this today is that he’s continuing to deliver on that ambitious agenda and he’s not done yet … this is a continuing continuation of what he’s promised the American people.”
KJP on what Biden’s ‘environmental justice’ EO means for East Palestine: “That’s a very good question…What’s important to note about this…is the President’s continued support in his climate agenda, his ambitious climate change. He has the most ambitious climate agenda” pic.twitter.com/27zXNBAWOW
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) April 21, 2023
The executive order will also make environmental justice a “duty” for all federal agencies and expands programs covered under the Justice40 initiative, which dedicates partial funding from federal projects to communities “marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution.”
“This is just delivering again on how he sees moving forward with dealing with climate change, his promise that he made in 2020 and as he continues to deliver throughout his tenure here,” Jean-Pierre said. “That is going to be our focus. He’s going to continue to do more work to make sure that we deal with an issue that’s incredibly important.”
The announcement comes more than two months after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine carrying hazardous materials. Cleanup efforts are still underway in the community.
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