9 months ago
President Joe Biden will travel next month to East Palestine, Ohio, to mark the one-year anniversary of the disastrous train derailment and toxic chemical spill in the area.
The visit fulfills a long-held vow to visit the small eastern Ohio town, where a Norfolk Southern train hauling hazardous materials ran off the tracks on Feb. 3, 2023, igniting a dayslong fire that released poisonous fumes and forced residents out of their homes.
Biden last year ordered his Federal Emergency Management Agency to appoint a coordinator to oversee East Palestine’s long-term recovery efforts. He’s also tasked the Environmental Protection Agency with evaluating whether Norfolk Southern has followed through on its commitment to address any lingering threats to the town generated by the derailment. And the Transportation Department has pumped millions into rail safety grants and additional inspections.
The White House faced criticism over Biden’s decision not to immediately visit East Palestine in the aftermath of the derailment. The president has traveled to other disaster sites across the country in the intervening months. When pressed on the delay in September, he said he didn’t have “the occasion to go to East Palestine.” He has since been drawn into numerous foreign crises, particularly after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. and, more recently, the death of the service members in Jordan adds to the rising Middle East tensions.
Former President Donald Trump visited a firehouse about a half-mile from the derailment site in late February, 19 days after the incident, calling it a “betrayal” of the residents. His visit, though, came one day before Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s arrival, and weeks after the administration dispatched EPA Administrator Michael Regan to the site.
At the time, Trump’s visit cast a light on Trump’s DOT, which oversaw mothballing two rules that sought to shore up the safety of train brakes and crews.
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