Salena Zito's no-nonsense report from East Palestine, OH

Salena Zito just visited East Palestine, OH. She notes that Palestine is "pronounced Pal-e-steen." Then she notes that the Biden administration didn't show a serious presence until last week. Pete Buttigieg didn't arrive until today. When he got there, he started from a defensive posture. Considering the fact that he didn't take an interest in the catastrophe until last week, that's understandable.

By the time that Secretary Buttigieg got to East Palestine, he was facing fierce criticism in the form of Sen. Marco Rubio demanding "Biden fire him for a 'gross level of incompetence and apathy' pertaining to the derailment crisis, his handling of the Southwest Airline holiday meltdown, and more." Buttigieg didn't handle first contact with East Palestine, saying "We've been here from the first hours of the incident as an administration, and it's why our interests in East Palestine and in keeping our railroads safe doesn't go away."

True to form, Buttigieg didn't take responsibility for not showing up, instead criticizing Trump. Buttigieg criticized the Trump administration "for relaxing federal regulations for the rail industry, including on braking system maintenance that he suggests contributed to the derailment." Buttigieg's problem with that criticism is that the initial finding of the NTSB is that "an overheated wheel bearing on a train car" might've caused the derailment. That has nothing to do with the Trump administration.

This won't help the Biden administration:

The Biden administration’s refusal to declare East Palestine a disaster area and grant FEMA aid feels eerily similar to Black Monday now, especially as the tragedy comes at a time of worker strife. Last year, two of the country’s largest freight rail labor unions threatened to strike, citing grievances such as staffing shortages and a requirement that workers be on call on short notice as often as seven days a week. Then, in December, Biden stepped in and signed legislation that imposed an agreement between the rail companies, including Norfolk Southern and its workers. A strike was averted, but the workers got little of what they asked for.

"Look, I know this bill doesn’t have paid sick leave that these rail workers and frankly every worker in America deserves," Biden admitted when he ended the dispute. "But that fight isn’t over." He never mentioned it again.

Biden has touted his blue-collar union roots. When it came time to side with the rank-and-file, though, he sided with the railroad companies.

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