Senator Marco Rubio Takes Massive Action to Hold Pete Buttigieg Accountable for East Palestine Train Derailment – ‘Resign Immediately’

On Thursday, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging the chief executive to request the immediate resignation of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg after his repeated failures culminated in an ecological disaster in East Palestine, Ohio following a train derailment on February 3rd.

“I write to urge you to request the immediate resignation of U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Buttigieg, who has repeatedly demonstrated a gross level of incompetence and apathy that is detrimental to the safety and prosperity of the American people,” the letter began.

For two years, Secretary Buttigieg downplayed and ignored crisis after crisis, while prioritizing topics of little relevance to our nation’s transportation system,” Rubio explained. “It is painfully clear to the American people that Secretary Buttigieg has little regard for the duties of the Secretary of Transportation.”

“At no time has that been more apparent than in the past two weeks. Secretary Buttigieg refused to acknowledge the disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, until his intentional ignorance was no longer tenable,” the senator wrote. “Even after acknowledging the tragedy, he continues to deflect any accountability for the safety of our nation’s rail system. The circumstances leading up to the derailment point to a clear lack of oversight and demand engagement by our nation’s top transportation official.”

As previously reported by the DC Enquirer, Buttigieg only responded to the train derailment ten days after the incident writing, “I continue to be concerned about the impacts of the Feb 3 train derailment near East Palestine, OH, and the effects on families in the ten days since their lives were upended through no fault of their own. It’s important that families have access to useful & accurate information.”

“Unfortunately, this is part of a two-year-long pattern,” wrote Rubio. “During historic maritime and surface transportation disruptions in 2021, Secretary Buttigieg was completely absent. Amidst an impending possible rail strike last year, Secretary Buttigieg left the country to vacation in Portuguese wine country. Near misses in commercial aviation, as well as recent system failures, including the one that shut down air travel in Florida in January, indicate that serious and persistent problems across the DOT are not being sufficiently remedied. I do not have confidence that Secretary Buttigieg is capable of keeping the American people safe.”

LAWMAKERS TAKE ACTION AS BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S FEMA STILL REFUSES TO SEND AID TO EAST PALESTINE FOLLOWING TRAIN DERAILMENT

Buttigieg has overseen failure after failure. In December, over 5,000 flights were canceled, as previously reported by the DC Enquirer. A similar incident occurred in January when an error with a Federal Aviation Administration system caused a full-ground stop, the first since 9/11, as reported by the DC Enquirer.

“Secretary Buttigieg is also alleged to have abused taxpayer dollars by chartering private jets that are costlier than allowed in federal employee travel regulations, including for international travel,” Rubio emphasized. “Similar instances in previous administrations have led to resignations. Secretary Buttigieg is also alleged to have used government aircraft for travel that may be political in nature. The American people deserve to know that their tax dollars are not being abused for personal or political purposes by government officials and that public officials are being held to the same standards regardless of their political affiliation.”

As previously reported by the DC Enquirer, the first openly gay cabinet secretary was found, thanks to Americans for Public Trust, to have departed Joint Base Andrews on April 15 via a “MilAir Flight” with his husband in order to attend the fifth annual Invictus Games located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The two men were then recorded as returning two days later also via military aircraft.

“For two years, the transparency and accountability that you promised to obsessively uphold during your inauguration has been nowhere to be found,” Rubio said in conclusion, adding, “The incompetence and failure within your administration cannot continue to be ignored when Americans’ health and safety are at risk. I hope you will change course in order to uphold your so-far-unmet promise to the American people by requesting the immediate resignation of Secretary Buttigieg.”

President Biden picked Buttigieg as a diversity hire. The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana had no experience in the transportation industry and his repeated failings are a surprise to no one. If Buttigieg actually cared about the country, he would resign immediately and let someone more qualified take over his position. If Mayor Pete refuses to do so then President Biden should request his resignation.

It is time for @SecretaryPete to resign.

My letter to President Biden explains why.https://t.co/DTnwoq0ww7 pic.twitter.com/zqSFBNUSW6

— Senator Marco Rubio (@SenMarcoRubio) February 16, 2023

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