(PartiallyPolitics.com) On Thursday the White House announced that there were no arrangements for President Biden to visit East Palestine, Ohio, where a train derailment earlier this month also led to a toxic chemical spill. Biden has repeatedly defended his administration’s response to the disaster despite the criticisms he has faced from the Republican party.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was repeatedly asked whether there were any plans for Biden to visit the town. Jean-Pierre noted that while there was nothing to share regarding a presidential visit, there was a multi-agency reaction to address the crisis and the administration was “taking it seriously.”
Jean-Pierre, defended the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for choosing to visit the site, while President Biden was returning from an international trip to Ukraine and Poland. Jean Pierre added that all those who were on the ground, including the Environmental Protection administrator and the Transportation secretary, were there on the President’s direction.
Despite Jean-Pierre’s comments though, many Republicans have slammed the administration for their response, especially after East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway called Biden’s trip to Ukraine the “biggest slap in the face,” stating that it showed that the president “doesn’t care about us.”
Former President Donald Trump also visited the town a few days later on Wednesday and called the Biden administration out for “indifference and betrayal” in their lack of response to the crisis.
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