The White House on Thursday dismissed Republican attacks on Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg over his handling of a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, as “pure politics.”
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended Buttigieg in response to GOP lawmakers who have called on him to resign and questioned his competence in the job in the aftermath of the Feb. 3 train derailment, which spilled toxic chemicals.
“There’s been a lot of bad faith attacks on Secretary Buttigieg,” Jean-Pierre said at a briefing with reporters. “And the reason why we believe it’s bad faith is if you remember, Elaine Chao … she was the head of the Department of Transportation, and when there was these types of chemical spills, nobody was calling for her to be fired.”
“Nobody was calling for what they’re calling for Secretary Pete,” Jean-Pierre continued. “It is pure politics, it is pure political stunts what they’re doing.”
Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has taken the brunt of Republican criticism of the Biden administration’s response to the Norfolk Southern train derailment, with lawmakers and conservative pundits questioning why it took until Thursday for him to visit East Palestine.
Discover more from News Facts Network
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
