Republican Senator for Ohio JD Vance slammed President Joe Biden’s “woefully inadequate” response to the East Palestine train-derailment disaster in an op-ed published by The Columbus Dispatch.
“It is difficult to fathom how a singular event could upend the daily lives of thousands of our fellow Americans.” Vance wrote in the Dispatch. “Hundreds of tons of toxic chemicals polluted the ground they walked, the water they drank, and the air they breathed … will the country forget about what happened to our home? Will our political leaders forget about us and our families?…By all accounts, our country and our political class have forgotten.”
A train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, in February, forcing 2,000 people to evacuate and blanketing the town with toxic fumes.
In his op-ed, Vance criticized the Biden administration’s “woefully inadequate” response to the potential health ramifications and lack of leadership during the crisis. (RELATED: Biden’s Ukraine Visit Is A ‘Slap In The Face’ To Residents Of Town Near Toxic Train Wreck, GOP Rep Says)
“When a disaster decimates an American community, the commander-in-chief should be expected to assure the suffering, in person, that the entire nation is behind them.” Vance said. “Not only has Joe Biden refused to visit East Palestine, but he has also refused to grant critical assistance to the recovery effort … Cleanup efforts overseen by Joe Biden’s environmental protection officials have also been woefully inadequate.”
Joe Biden’s flight from DC to Milwaukee today flew almost directly over East Palestine, Ohio.
Biden promised to visit the town on March 2nd. He has yet to do so. pic.twitter.com/vSw9eipfyL
— Alec Sears (@alec_sears) August 15, 2023
Biden said in early March that he would visit the site of the tragedy but has yet to do so. Former President Donald Trump, who Vance has endorsed in the 2024 race, visited the scene just weeks after the disaster.
Beyond his critique of Biden, Vance renewed calls for his fellow Republicans to up regulations on railroads to prevent another disaster like East Palestine.
“We cannot allow railroad companies to continue under the same status quo that led to disaster in my state,” he wrote. “We must hold them to higher standards of safety. The responsibility for preventing the next derailment disaster falls upon me and my colleagues in Congress as well as federal regulators, not to mention the railroad industry itself … I’ll never stop fighting for East Palestine. There is much work to be done.”