Trump hypocrisy highlights Democratic cowardice & neglect

Federal investigators released a preliminary report into the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, that declared the disaster '100% preventable' but a local activist is demanding to know why New Jersey lawmakers failed to stop the previous Republican administration from weakening safety rules that should have prevented the incident.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said "we know what derailed the train" after the report was issued saying in part: "Surveillance video from a local residence showed what appeared to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment. The wheel bearing and affected wheelset have been collected as evidence and will be examined by the NTSB."

"I can tell you this much. This was 100% preventable. We call things accidents. There is no accident. Every single event that we investigate is preventable. So, our hearts are with you know that the NTSB has one goal and that is safety. And ensuring that this never happens again," Homendy said.

"Donald Trump went to East Palestine, Ohio, where 50 cars of a Norfolk Southern train carrying harmful chemicals fell off the tracks on February 3," said Lisa McCormick, a progressive activist in New Jersey who has challenged the political establishment. "The former president was not asked why his administration scrapped the requirement to have electronically-controlled pneumatic brake systems for trains carrying hazardous, flammable materials. That safety rule would have prevented the East Palestine train derailment."

The NTSB will hold a rare field hearing in East Palestine this spring but a final report with recommendations might not be finished for up to two years.

McCormick called on Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to revive a rail safety rule scrapped by the Trump administration, which increased the likelihood of rail disasters by eliminating enforcement of the previous regulation.

NTSB said 38 train cars derailed in the incident, 11 of those containing hazardous materials, five of which held vinyl chloride, a highly volatile, colorless, flammable, and carcinogenic gas. A dozen more train cars were damaged in the ensuing fire

In 2017 the Trump administration repealed an Obama-era rule that required some trains carrying hazardous substances to upgrade their braking to electronically-controlled pneumatic (ECP) systems.

"While the former president criticized the Biden administration’s response to the train derailment in East Palestine, he should have been excoriated for rolling back environmental protections and safety regulations that could have averted the accident," said McCormick. "Instead, we got crickets. There is no real leadership among Democrats in Congress because they spend all their time raising money for their next election."

The 2022 federal election cost more than $8.9 billion, surpassing the previous midterm record, a new OpenSecrets analysis found. McCormick, who spent less than $5000 to win four out of ten votes cast in the 2018 Democratic primary election, said only public campaign financing will make politicians put people first when it comes to policymaking, instead of lobbyists and corporate donors who exploit a system of 'legal bribery.'

Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. is a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, but after the deadly New Jersey Transit train crash in Hoboken, he stood silently by as Trump’s administration watered down regulations at the behest of the rail industry.

Payne, as well as Reps. Donald Norcross, Frank Pallone, Bill Pascrell, Albio Sires, Chris Smith, and Bonnie Watson Coleman all voted for the FAST Act, which required the Department of Transportation to repeal the ECP brake requirement. Menendez and Senator Cory Booker both voted against that law.

Buttigieg, visiting the site of a train derailment one day after Trump, lamented he could have spoken out “sooner” about the crash, which happened 20 days ago.

“I felt strongly about this and could have expressed that sooner,” said Buttigieg. “I was taking pains to respect the role that I have, the role that I don’t have — but that should not have stopped me from weighing in about how I felt about what was happening.”

Buttigieg has faced a barrage of criticism for his slow response to the derailment, which resulted in toxic chemicals being released into the air and ground. McCormick, who previously described Buttigieg as 'a train wreck' said the Transportation Secretary should have responded to Trump's lies and proposed to move on safety standards instead of making a politically expedient apology for his inaction.

"Environmental groups filed an administrative appeal of the Trump administration’s replacement rule, so it would have been smarter to promise and deliver action on that still-pending appeal," said McCormick. “It should not take a tragedy like this hazardous train derailment to return attention to this issue but there can be no excuse for further delay after the devastating harm brought to this Ohio community, not plagued by water contamination, air pollution, and damage to human health."

"Among more than 100 environmental rules the Republican rolled back, Trump withdrew an Obama-era plan to require faster brakes on trains carrying highly flammable materials, shelved a rule that demanded at least two crew members on freight trains, and dropped a ban on transporting liquified natural gas that could cause explosions," said McCormick. "Congressman Payne, Senator Menendez, the whole lot of them did nothing to protect lives when Trump Republicans were catering to corporate criminals."

Trump’s record of rolling back environmental protections was highlighted by critics as the ex-president visited the town of East Palestine, Ohio, where he called the federal response to the toxic train derailment there a 'betrayal' but New Jersey's Democratic congressional delegation was largely silent, just as they were when the safety rules were being eviscerated.

"Before we can overcome Republican obstruction, we need Democrats to show some signs of life down in Washington," said McCormick, who has been widely ignored by mainstream media outlets despite her stunning performance in her 2018 challenge to U.S. Senator Bob Menendez and substantive statements about numerous issues.

McCormick said that in 2018, representatives for Earthjustice, Waterkeeper Alliance, Sierra Club, Riverkeeper, Washington Environmental Council, and Stand filed an administrative appeal of the Trump administration’s replacement rule, arguing it was based on outdated impact analyses that predate the current level of crude oil being carried by rail.

"Trump's administration made gutting transportation and environmental safety regulations a key priority," said McCormick, "but New Jersey's Democratic congressional delegation was silent then just as they are silent now because the political establishment is not on our side.

In a press conference following the catastrophic derailment in East Palestine, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine expressed difficulty grasping one particular aspect of federal rail regulations.

“This train…was not considered high hazardous material train,” DeWine said. “Frankly, if this is true – and I’m told it’s true – this is absurd, and we need to look at this.”

In the aftermath of the derailment, which released toxic chemicals into the streams and air around East Palestine, many are wondering how the country’s regulations around rail traffic could have allowed a train with 20 cars of hazardous material not to be considered a “high hazard.”

McCormick said the answer lies in our polluted political system, which rewards candidates who raise the most money instead of those who champion the best policy ideas, plans and solutions.