Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg confirmed today that he will pay a visit to East Palestine, Ohio almost three weeks after a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed. Large amounts of toxic chemicals were spilled or burned off. Residents were forced to evacuate out of fear for their health.

Since that night on February 3, Buttigieg and President Biden have received intense backlash for not visiting East Palestine, a small town of 4,700. The criticism increased when Biden chose to travel to Ukraine and show support for Zelensky instead of going to Ohio at any point since the derailment occurred. Buttigieg has written a letter to the CEO of Norfolk Southern demanding that the railroad company make the residents whole after the disaster. I’m sure that will do the trick. Why bother to go to the community and speak with the residents in person, finding out firsthand what their needs are? He can just write a letter.

Buttigieg is someone who fails up. He’s inept in his job and unwilling to step aside. East Palestine’s mayor, Trent Conaway, was livid about Biden’s trip to Ukraine to commemorate the first anniversary of Putin’s invasion of that country. He called it “a slap in the face.” If Biden won’t go, the very least that could be done is send Buttigieg to at least fake some interest in the residents’ lives going forward.

Last week Senators Marco Rubio and J.D. Vance wrote to Buttigieg with a request for information about how the Department of Transportation oversees the nation’s freight system. Today Buttigieg announced some reforms.

Buttigieg announced a package of reforms Tuesday — two days after he warned the railroad responsible for the derailment, Norfolk Southern, to fulfill its promises to clean up the mess just outside East Palestine, Ohio, and help the town recover. He said the Department of Transportation will hold the railroad accountable for any safety violations that contributed to the Feb. 3 crash near the Pennsylvania border.

“While ensuring the safety of those impacted by this crash is the immediate priority, we also have to recognize that this represents an important moment to redouble our efforts to make this far less likely to happen again in the future,” Buttigieg said.

Buttigieg said railroads and tank car owners should take action themselves to accelerate their plan to upgrade the tank cars that haul flammable liquids like crude oil and ethanol by 2025 instead of waiting to comply with the 2029 standard Congress ultimately approved after regulators suggested the earlier deadline. He also said freight railroads should quickly agree to use a confidential hotline regulators created that lets employees report safety concerns without fear of retribution, and reach agreements to provide their employees with paid sick time to help prevent fatigue.

He also wants railroads to stop asking for waivers from inspection requirements every time they develop new technology to improve inspections because he said the technology should supplement but not replace human inspections.

Railroad unions raise concerns that car inspections are being rushed and preventative maintenance is getting neglected after widespread job cuts in recent years. The president of the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department coalition said it’s time to look in the mirror and make the decision to do better across the industry.

Buttigieg plans to ask Congress for help with some reforms.

Buttigieg said regulators will be looking at whether they can revive a proposed rule the Trump administration dropped that would have required upgraded, electronically-controlled brakes on certain trains filled with flammable liquids that are designated “high-hazardous flammable train.” The rule was dropped after Congress directed regulators to use a strict cost-benefit analysis to evaluate the rule and they decided the potential benefits couldn’t justify the costs.

Buttigieg said he’ll ask Congress to “untie our hands here” on the braking rule, and regulators may look at expanding which trains are covered by the “high-hazardous” rules that were announced in 2015 after several fiery crude oil train derailments — the worst of which killed 47 people and decimated the Canadian town of Lac Mégantic in 2013. He also said Congress should raise the current $225,455 limit on railroad safety fines at least tenfold to create a better deterrent for multibillion-dollar corporations.

Buttigieg downplays the need for an administration official to survey the damage and visit the community. Isn’t this administration supposed to be one of such empathy for regular Americans? Buttigieg slammed Trump for his upcoming to the area on Wednesday, calling it a photo op. Perhaps, but he’s showing up and that is a major win for anyone doing so. Buttigieg should realize that.

‘I am planning to go and our folks were on the ground from the first hours,’ he insisted to Good Morning America on Tuesday when asked why he has not visited East Palestine in the 18 days since the derailment.

He did not give a timeline for when he will make it to the ground of the disaster.

He’s going, he’s just not going to say when. Would he have decided to go if Biden had not been so criticized this week? Buttigieg is known for being AWOL in his duties. It seems like he’d be the first one there from the administration to see what is happening there. But, no. In the meantime, Senator Rubio called for his resignation or for Biden to fire Buttigieg. We know Biden won’t do that but it’s a reasonable request. Buttigieg isn’t up to the job.

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