The derailment of a Norfolk Southern train happened on February 3 in East Palestine, Ohio. Since then there has been a slow and often silent response by the federal government.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg waited for a full ten days to make comments on the disaster that a small community on the Ohio and Pennsylvania border is facing. Naturally, he broke his silence to blame the previous administration for the derailment. Because of course, he did. Trump has been out of office for three years yet he continues to be the scapegoat when things go wrong for the Biden administration. And, things go wrong a lot for the Biden administration. This is the gang that can’t shoot straight, though Biden promised he would bring in officials with a history of government experience and competence. Not so much, as it turns out. By hiring his cabinet and others solely on how they check off identity boxes, it was a recipe for failure. Mayor Pete is a prime example.

Has Buttigieg visited the site of the derailment and toured the aftermath? Has he visited with the residents of East Palestine? No. He’s been busy going to Louisiana to look at a bridge and commenting on what he thinks is an abundance of white construction workers. Buttigieg has a history of being AWOL when the going gets tough. Ironically, he mentioned his love of trains when he was nominated for his current job, as though that was a reason he should be the transportation secretary. Shouldn’t he have been on the scene the next day, certainly the day after that?

Mayor Pete wrote a letter to the CEO of Norfolk Southern yesterday. Yesterday. That was 16 days after the derailment. The letter is described as a stern warning to Alan Shaw that the company must “demonstrate unequivocal support for the people” of East Palestine, Ohio, and surrounding areas. Is that the best Pete can do?

“Norfolk Southern must live up to its commitment to making residents whole — and must also live up to its obligation to do whatever it takes to stop putting communities such as East Palestine at risk,” Buttigieg wrote. “This is the right time for Norfolk Southern to take a leadership position within the rail industry, shifting to a posture that focuses on supporting, not thwarting, efforts to raise the standard of U.S. rail safety regulation.”

The EPA director didn’t visit the community until late last week. What about this administration’s obsession with the environment? Aren’t they at least curious about air and water contamination from the toxic chemicals released during the derailment? How about ground contamination and the effects on crops grown there? The Biden administration defends its response.

The administration said it has “mobilized a robust, multi-agency effort to support the people of East Palestine, Ohio,” since the derailment. Michael Regan, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, visited the site Thursday, walking along a creek that still reeks of chemicals as he sought to reassure skeptical residents that the water is fit for drinking and the air safe to breathe.

“I’m asking they trust the government,” Regan said. “I know that’s hard. We know there’s a lack of trust.” He said officials are ”testing for everything that was on that train.”

No other Cabinet member has visited the rural village, where about 5,000 people live near the Pennsylvania line. But administration officials insisted that their response has been immediate and effective.

Regan is the only one who has shown up and that was after two weeks went by. The response is to shut up and quit asking questions. Just trust the government. Are you kidding me? Trust in government is at all-time low levels with American citizens. Rightly so. Trust has to be earned.

Governor DeWine has been trying to convince residents that the air and water are safe. Many locals think differently.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Friday that the chemicals that spilled into the Ohio River are no longer a risk, even as people in the community say they have constant headaches and irritated eyes. The state plans to open a medical clinic in the village of 4,700 to analyze their symptoms, despite repeated statements that air and water testing has shown no signs of contaminants.

One professor said he wouldn’t return to East Palestine with his family. Much more information is needed.

Peter DeCarlo, a professor of environmental health and engineering at Johns Hopkins University, told ABC News on Sunday that more testing is needed to determine which chemicals are present.

“We just don’t have the information we need to understand what chemicals may be present,” DeCarlo said. “We know it started as vinyl chloride, but as soon as you burn that all bets are off. You have a lot of chemical byproducts that can happen from a combustion process like that.”

Asked if he would move back to East Palestine if he were already living there, DeCarlo said: “I have two little boys. I would not.”

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw published a letter to East Palestine residents. He told them that ‘we will not walk away’ and ‘we are here’ yet he backed out of going to a community town hall to answer questions from the locals. Is it any wonder they don’t trust anyone right now? Shaw has since made a couple of trips to East Palestine to talk to the residents. He was back there on Saturday.

CEO Alan Shaw : “I returned to East Palestine today to meet with local leaders, first responders, and a group of Norfolk Southern employees who live in the area. In every conversation today, I shared how deeply sorry I am this happened to their home." https://t.co/cjL6P2OXzD pic.twitter.com/VBYybO3mYG

— Norfolk Southern (@nscorp) February 19, 2023

This will take years to resolve. There are inherent risks to those who purchase homes and property near railroad tracks, and that is true. But the people deserve to know what is being transported and how companies will react if something goes wrong as this derailment did. It is the responsibility of the railroad company to take care of the victims of this disaster. The silence from the Biden administration has been deafening. Is it political? These are mostly low-income people who live in a community that votes overwhelmingly for Republicans, especially for Trump. Would Biden have paid a visit to East Palestine by now if it was Democrat territory? Presidents typically visit sites of natural and manmade disasters. Nothing from Sleepy Joe. Buttigieg points to the number of railroad derailments each year. If it is so common, shouldn’t he be working on some solutions instead of just pointing a finger at the previous administration? That would take work, though, and we know Mayor Pete isn’t much for that.