Almost three weeks after the toxic train derailment occurred in East Palestine, Ohio, President Biden ordered that “walk teams” of members of federal agencies go door-to-door to check on families in the area. Much like after a hurricane or other natural disaster, teams from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Emergency Management Agency will visit homes beginning today. Workers will ask residents how they are doing, assess their needs, and connect them with appropriate resources from government and non-profit organizations.

Biden ordered the federal employees to survey as many homes as possible by Monday. The immediate goal is to visit at least 400 homes. Will this latest action include a trip from Biden to the area to see for himself what his fellow Americans need? No. He’s in Delaware doing what he usually does on weekends – taking time off in one of his mansions. The White House says he has no plans to visit East Palestine.

DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg donned his best version of a Bob the Builder costume and toured the area the day after former President Trump visited the area. Trump brought pallets of water, food, and cleaning supplies for those who need them. Trump also bought lunch for first responders at the local fire station and the locals who were in McDonald’s when he stopped in. All we saw from Mayor Pete was him brushing off questions from the press about his slow response to the emergency. The timing of Pete’s visit was interesting – it was an early morning visit, one when residents would be heading to work or school and not available to go to see the DOT secretary. How convenient for a federal employee who doesn’t want to be held accountable.

It’s probably just a coincidence that as Joe Biden was issuing his order of door-to-door visits in East Palestine by federal agency employees, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and committee Republicans opened an investigation into Buttigieg’s response to the train derailment in East Palestine. Committee members are concerned about DOT’s slow response to the emergency. The committee requests all documents and information related to the train derailment.

The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the ongoing crisis that began on February 3, 2023, in East Palestine, Ohio. A Norfolk Southern freight train’s derailment and the ensuing response released highly toxic chemical materials into the air, water, and soil—forcing residents of East Palestine to evacuate. This incident is an environmental and public health emergency that now threatens Americans across state lines,” wrote the Republican lawmakers. “Despite the U.S. Department of Transportation’s responsibility to ensure safe and reliable transport in the United States, you ignored the catastrophe for over a week. The American people deserve answers as to what caused the derailment, and DOT needs to provide an explanation for its leadership’s apathy in the face of this emergency.”

Following the derailment, crews held a controlled release and burn of the toxic chemicals—including the explosive and carcinogenic vinyl chloride—carried in the railcars. Some of these chemicals may still be present in the area, with residents reporting dead animals, strong odors, burning sensations, rashes, and watery eyes. The fallout from the Ohio train derailment continues to develop.

“One hazardous materials specialist explained, ‘We basically nuked a town with chemicals so we could get a railroad open.’ As Secretary of Transportation, you must provide transparency to the American public on this matter. Instead, you have attempted to blame others for infrastructure that is within DOT’s ambit of responsibilities,” continued the Republican lawmakers. “Under your leadership, DOT supported President Biden’s Infrastructure Bill, which included billions of dollars devoted to revamping America’s railways in an effort to make them safer and more efficient. Yet America now faces one of transportation’s largest failures, even while DOT seems to not lack available funding.”

There are also questions coming from other places about the contaminated wastewater and soil being transported to out-of-state locations, like Texas and Michigan, for disposal.

Environmental controversy extended more than 1,000 miles to Texas, where a Harris County official raised questions about the transportation and disposal of toxic wastewater that was moved to a Houston suburb from the site of the Ohio derailment.

County Judge Lina Hidalgo said a half-million gallons of wastewater from the site had been delivered to Deer Park, Texas, with 1.5 million more gallons set to arrive. The wastewater has been delivered to Texas Molecular, which injects hazardous waste into the ground for disposal.

Contaminated soil from the site will be moved by truck to a disposal site near Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ohio Gov. DeWine’s office said, prompting a complaint from Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich.

“We were not given a heads up on this reported action,″ said Dingell, who represents the area. She said she would contact DeWine’s office as well as federal and Ohio officials and Norfolk Southern “to understand what is being shipped … and how we ensure the safety of all Michigan residents.″

Mayor Pete thought he could just lay low, maybe take some more personal time with the fam, and avoid being held accountable for his response to the environmental and humanitarian crisis going on in a small working-class to lower-class Ohio community. Those voters aren’t Biden voters, was likely the reasoning, just blame the previous administration for streamlining regulations on railroad companies. Too bad for Petey, the preliminary report from NTSB shows that it was a wheel bearing failure, not a failure of the brakes, that caused the derailment.

Buttigieg proves all that is wrong with the Biden administration. He was an identity box hire and not one hired for relevant work experience or qualifications. He keeps failing up. It’s no surprise that he is frequently spoken about as a future presidential candidate, even after his failed campaign in 2020. Democrats are fine with turning a blind eye to his record of failure at DOT. With each day that goes by, he proves he is not up to a job with many big responsibilities. He’d rather be taking personal time.