Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, on Thursday slammed Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for partly blaming the trail derailment in East Palestine on the Trump administration.
Earlier this week, Buttigieg said his office had been handicapped by former President Donald Trump's move in 2018 to withdraw a rule relating to braking systems for trains transporting dangerous chemicals.
In the nearly two weeks since the derailment forced evacuations, residents have complained about suffering from headaches and irritated eyes and finding their cars and lawns covered in soot. The hazardous chemicals that spilled from the train killed thousands of fish, and residents have talked about finding dying or sick pets and wildlife.
"The Department of Transportation, your Department of Transportation, has things it can do," Vance said Thursday during a visit to the crash site. "Stop blaming Donald Trump, a guy who hasn't been president for three years, and use the powers of the federal government to do the things necessary to help people in this community."
Buttigieg's office did not respond to the incident for days.
"In the wake of the East Palestine derailment and its impact on hundreds of residents, we're seeing lots of newfound or renewed (and welcome) interest in our work on rail safety, so I wanted to share more about what we've been doing in this area," Buttigieg tweeted Tuesday.
"We're constrained by law on some areas of rail regulation (like the braking rule withdrawn by the Trump administration in 2018 because of a law passed by Congress in 2015), but we are using the powers we do have to keep people safe," he added.
"And of course, I'm always ready to work with Congress on furthering (or in some cases, restoring) our capacity to address rail safety issues."
Vance on Thursday also called out President Joe Biden for not holding a press conference on the train derailment.
"The second thing I'd say is, a lot of this is about leadership and just being available to people and making them realize, look, the biggest concern for the people of East Palestine is that they're going to be forgotten in a week," Vance said. "When the cameras disappear and the politicians are no longer around, are there still going to be people who are focused on them?
"I think the president could do a lot. Just standing in the White House press room for 30 seconds and saying, People of East Palestine, I see you. We're not going to forget about you. I think that's an important signal for the president to send."