The Biden administration’s best spokesperson, Pete Buttigieg, continues doing well by the administration as he continues ding Republican policy for the East Palestine derailment.
Pete Buttigieg hits the right tone.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg continued to do a great job defending the administration from Republican attacks about East Palestine, Ohio. He appropriately points out it is Republican policy and corporate negligence, in this case, specifically Norfolk Southern.
The following statement nailed it.
“There was a rule having to do with braking,” Pete Buttigieg said. “Again, I’m not going to make any claims about how that might have applied in this case. But there is a rule about braking that was put in under the Obama administration in 2015. There were five lawsuits in different jurisdictions to try to take it down. And they went after Congress, and they went to this agency. And sure enough, eventually that that rule got stripped away. So that’s just one example of the muscle that railroad lobbies can flex in this city.”
In other words, corporations got lobbyists to purchase politicians who relaxed rules. That relaxation likely contributed to the catastrophe. The entire guilt flow is direct. Buttigieg also made it clear that the level of fines are so inconsequential that it is not a deterrent.
I repeat, Pete Buttigieg is the administration’s best spokesperson.
