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The White House criticized Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration on Wednesday, claiming they should be to blame for the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
The criticism came on the same day as former President Donald Trump visited the derailment site, during which he called out the Biden administration for its slow response.
“Congressional Republicans and former Trump administration officials owe East Palestine an apology for selling them out to rail industry lobbyists when they dismantled Obama-Biden rail safety protections as well as EPA powers to rapidly contain spills,” said Andrew Bates, a deputy White House press secretary, according to a statement.
He added, “Congressional Republicans laid the groundwork for the Trump Administration to tear up requirements for more effective train brakes, and last year most House Republicans wanted to defund our ability to protect drinking water.”
Bates challenged GOP lawmakers to set things right. He also tweeted out a 2021 letter signed by 20 GOP senators, asking the Federal Railroad Administration to increase the use of automated track inspections instead of human inspections.
“There is only one way they can prove that they are finally disowning their long history of giveaways to rail industry management at the expense of communities like East Palestine: work across the aisle with us to put Obama-Biden protections back in place and go further, including with higher fines for rail pollution and properly equipping the EPA,” Bates said.
