President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> said during a press conference in Florida on Saturday that he has not had a chance to go to East Palestine, Ohio, because he&#8217;s been too busy.
&#8220;You said in March that you would go to East Palestine, Ohio,&#8221; a reporter said. &#8220;You came here, how come you haven&#8217;t gone to East Palestine yet?&#8221;
&#8220;Well, I haven&#8217;t had the occasion to go to East Palestine,&#8221; Biden responded. &#8220;There&#8217;s a lot going on, here, and I just haven&#8217;t been able to break.&#8221;
&#8220;I was thinking whether I&#8217;d go to East Palestine this week, but I then was reminded I&#8217;ve got to go literally around the world,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I&#8217;m going from, from Washington to India to Vietnam to&#8211;, and so I it&#8217;s going to be a while.&#8221;
&#8220;But we&#8217;re making sure that East Palestine has what they need materially in order to deal with their problems,&#8221; he continued.
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WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BIDEN: “I haven’t had the occasion to go to East Palestine. There’s a lot going on.” <a href="https://t.co/YfQAt7DoYK">pic.twitter.com/YfQAt7DoYK</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1698127650668363814?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Political commentator Stephen L. Miller responded, &#8220;I would go to Ohio but I have to go check on India and Vietnam first so it&#8217;s going to be awhile even though I just said I was thinking of going this week after 8 months and 23 days on the beach and dementia.&#8221;
RNC Strategic Communications Director Tommy Pigott said, &#8220;Joe Biden has spent 75 days on vacation the last 6 months, including 19 days in August alone.&#8221;
&#8220;What an absolute garbage answer. East Palestine is a 1 hour flight from DC,&#8221; said political commentator Pradheep J. Shanker. &#8220;You could drive it in five hours. He has made the conscious choice to avoid the people of East Palestine, and there is a clear reason for this: because at this point they know he is a liar.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-continues-to-assist-in-recovery-efforts-while-biden-comes-to-florida-for-photo-op" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DeSantis Continues To Assist In Recovery Efforts While Biden Comes To Florida For ‘Photo Op’</a>

US-POLITICS-BIDEN-HURRICANE

Biden On Why He Hasn’t Gone To East Palestine: ‘There’s A Lot Going On’

Biden On Why He Hasn't Gone To East Palestine: 'There's A Lot Going On'

East Palestine

Executive

Joe Biden

Ohio

Politics

Rail company <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/entirely-avoidable-ohio-sues-norfolk-southern-for-train-disaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Norfolk Southern</a> doubled its estimate on the cost of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/east-palestine-residents-could-see-long-term-health-risks-from-highly-toxic-chemicals-analysis-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">East Palestine</a>, Ohio, train derailment disaster, now saying the associated costs will be $803 million. 
Executives said the majority of the cost is from the environmental cleanup as crews continue to work to remove the hazardous chemicals released when tankers carrying them derailed six months ago, The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/norfolk-southern-nsc-q2-earnings-report-8b598b5b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Norfolk Southern recorded a $416 million charge stemming from the East Palestine disaster Thursday as part of its second-quarter earnings. Earlier this year, the rail giant announced a $387 million charge, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/norfolk-southern-railroad-earnings-east-palestine-derailment-4a3d912b8cb4e66e1613e44220aba4c4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Associated Press. 
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said he is “proud of the way our team rose to the challenge” as his company seeks to help with cleanup efforts and improve the safety of the railroad.
“We are delivering on our commitment to recover service quickly,” Shaw said. “We’re delivering on our commitment to make a safe railroad even safer. We’re delivering on our commitment to address quality of life issues for our hard-working craft railroaders. And we continue to deliver on our commitment to make things right for the people of East Palestine and the surrounding communities.”
The company’s profit from railway operations dropped by more than half in the most recent quarter compared to the previous year, and overall revenue dropped 8% to $3 billion, according to Norfolk Southern. The company’s profit dropped to $356 million ($1.56 per share) from $819 million ($3.45 per share) a year ago. Norfolk Southern estimated that without the derailment costs it would’ve earned $2.95 per share in the quarter.  
Norfolk Southern’s $803 million estimate does not include money to compensate East Palestine residents for any <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/east-palestine-residents-could-see-long-term-health-risks-from-highly-toxic-chemicals-analysis-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">long-term health effects</a> related to the chemical spill. The company opted to burn several cars filled with the dangerous chemical vinyl chloride over fears that the cars would explode. The fire sent a cloud of smoke that remained over the town of 4,700 for days. Nearly six months after the disaster, chemicals from the derailment appear to still be present in a creek as trucks continue to haul contaminated water and soil out of the town, WSJ <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/ohio-train-derailment-norfolk-southern-update-cb5815ee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. 
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“From the beginning, we’ve been clear that we would be in town for the long haul,” said Connor Spielmaker, a Norfolk Southern spokesman. “We don’t have a timeline to provide as far as when it’ll be ‘job done,’ but we will be there until it is.”
Earlier this month, Governor Mike DeWine (R-OH) <a href="https://governor.ohio.gov/media/news-and-media/governor-dewine-requests-presidential-disaster-declaration-for-east-palestine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> President Joe Biden to issue a major disaster declaration order, which would allow the town to receive federal aid in the cleanup, but the Biden administration still has not made a decision.

East Palestine Train Disaster

Norfolk Southern Says Cost Of East Palestine Derailment Has Doubled As Chemical Cleanup Continues

Norfolk Southern Says Cost Of East Palestine Derailment Has Doubled As Chemical Cleanup Continues 6 Months Later

Norfolk Southern

Ohio Train Disaster

The White House claimed on Wednesday that President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> still plans to visit <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/east-palestine">East Palestine</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ohio">Ohio</a>, five months after the Norfolk Southern <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ohio-train-disaster">train derailment disaster</a>.
But White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to share a date when <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?529128-1/white-house-daily-briefing">a reporter raised a question</a> about a visit, noting that Biden has &#8220;done a lot of travel in recent weeks and months&#8221; to other places.
&#8220;So, I&#8217;m just going to repeat what the president said,&#8221; Jean-Pierre said. &#8220;He will travel to the area, to East Palestine. Just don&#8217;t have anything to share on travel or upcoming dates that he&#8217;ll be there. But the president said it, he&#8217;s going to go. So he will go. Once we have a date, we&#8217;ll certainly share that.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
“Why has the president not made the visit [to East Palestine] and at this point, is he just not going to?”
Karine Jean-Pierre: “He will travel&#8230;Just don’t have anything to share on travel” <a href="https://t.co/YkYvB59GyL">pic.twitter.com/YkYvB59GyL</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1676667347942113280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2023</a></blockquote>
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A Norfolk Southern freight train derailed on February 3 while passing through the small town of East Palestine, a village near Ohio&#8217;s border with Pennsylvania. Locals soon began to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/unlike-anything-i-have-ever-seen-ohio-first-responder-says-residents-suffer-from-health-issues-after-train-derailment?%3Futm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=dwnewstwitter">raise concerns</a> about health and environmental threats posed by a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/air-quality-following-controlled-burn-at-ohio-derailment-site-basically-what-it-was-before-train-crash-governor-claims" target="_blank" rel="noopener">controlled burn</a> of toxic chemicals at the crash site meant to deter a large explosion.
Weeks later, East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway <a href="https://www.wlwt.com/article/east-palestine-mayor-biden-ukraine-train-derailment/43012110#">described</a> Biden visiting Ukraine instead of his community as &#8220;the biggest slap in the face that tells you right now he doesn&#8217;t care about us.&#8221; After Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pete-buttigieg-provides-answer-on-why-he-did-not-visit-east-palestine-sooner">traveled to the derailment area</a> in late February — one day behind former President Donald Trump paying a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/you-are-not-forgotten-trump-visits-ohio-town-impacted-by-train-crash-hits-biden-over-lack-of-attention-toward-community">visit</a> to East Palestine — Biden said in early March that <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-visit-east-palestine-point-after-toxic-train/story?id=97587626#:~:text=President%20Joe%20Biden%20said%20Thursday,Senate%20Majority%20Leader%20Chuck%20Schumer.">&#8220;at some point&#8221;</a> he would make the trip to the town.
Jean-Pierre also said on Wednesday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is reviewing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ohio">Ohio</a> Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mike-dewine">Mike DeWine</a>&#8216;s request for a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ohio-governor-asks-biden-for-east-palestine-disaster-declaration-150-days-after-train-derailment">major disaster declaration</a> and she stressed that Norfolk Southern was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/21/us/ohio-epa-cleanup-norfolk-southern.html">ordered</a> by the Environmental Protection Agency to pay for cleanup costs.
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&#8220;The EPA is making them pay so that the taxpayers don&#8217;t have to pay for their mess,&#8221; Jean-Pierre said. &#8220;And so we&#8217;ve been very clear about that. The EPA has been on top of that. And so when it comes to Norfolk Southern, they have met their terms of the order to date and there are stiff penalties if they do not.&#8221;

White House Insists Biden Still Plans To Visit East Palestine Five Months After Train Derailment

Disasters

Karine Jean-Pierre

U.S.

White House

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ohio">Ohio</a> Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mike-dewine">Mike DeWine</a> requested a major disaster declaration on Monday from the Biden administration for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/east-palestine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">East Palestine,</a> 150 days after the Norfolk Southern train derailment.
In a <a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/OHIOGOVERNOR/2023/07/03/file_attachments/2544385/REQUEST%20FOR%20PRESIDENTIAL%20DISASTER%20DECLARATION%207.3.2023.pdf">letter</a> to President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>, the state&#8217;s Republican governor explained that the deadline to make the request was Monday, after the Federal Emergency Management Agency refused to grant an extension, while the state &#8220;continues to evaluate long term needs&#8221; stemming from the early February train incident. DeWine added that assistance to the community from Norfolk Southern, which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-epa-unveil-lawsuit-against-norfolk-southern-over-east-palestine-train-crash">faces</a> <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2023-06-05/norfolk-southern-says-east-palestine-residents-suit-barred-by-us-law">litigation</a> over the derailment and just announced last Friday that it would <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/norfolk-southern-sues-rail-chemical-cos-over-east-palestine-cleanup-2023-07-03/">sue rail car owners</a> over cleanup costs, is not guaranteed.
&#8220;The possibility remains that the voluntary support provided by Norfolk Southern could at some point in the future cease, and this Declaration is needed to ensure that the State and Federal government use all resources available to step in and provide the community with needed assistance,&#8221; DeWine wrote.
Recently released <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/22/us/politics/train-derailment-east-palestine-ntsb.html">documents</a> from the National Transportation Safety Board show the freight train derailed on February 3 while passing through the small town of East Palestine, a village near Ohio&#8217;s border with Pennsylvania, after a car&#8217;s wheel set fell off, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/22/us/politics/train-derailment-east-palestine-ntsb.html">according to The New York Times</a>. Although no one was killed in the derailment, local residents were soon terrified by the health and environmental threats posed by the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/air-quality-following-controlled-burn-at-ohio-derailment-site-basically-what-it-was-before-train-crash-governor-claims" target="_blank" rel="noopener">controlled burn</a> of toxic chemicals that spilled out of tanker cars.
DeWine, who noted that officials had determined a &#8220;controlled release&#8221; would be the safest course of action meant to &#8220;avoid the dangers of explosion,&#8221; said that the clean-up of the site continues to this day, five months later.
&#8220;Residents continue to report medical conditions and are concerned that the air and water were impacted by the chemicals released during this incident,&#8221; the governor added. &#8220;This derailment and the subsequent controlled release were extraordinary events that continue to garner national media coverage.&#8221;
DeWine also said the state is still working to &#8220;identify current needs and evaluate the future impacts&#8221; the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ohio-train-disaster">disaster</a> will have on individuals and the East Palestine community.
&#8220;In addition to the physical and mental health impacts, there have been economic impacts,&#8221; the governor wrote. &#8220;Homeowners and business have seen property value decline and loss of business as people are hesitant to come into the community.&#8221;

East Palestine train tracks

Ohio Governor Asks Biden For East Palestine Disaster Declaration 150 Days After Train Derailment

Mike DeWine

Residents impacted by the disastrous <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/east-palestine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">East Palestine</a>, Ohio, train derailment in February are continuing to criticize the government’s handling of the toxic fallout stemming from the train wreck. 
East Palestine locals created a group earlier this month called the Unity Council for the East Palestine Train Derailment Community, demanding that Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mike-dewine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mike DeWine</a> (R-OH) declare an emergency over the derailment. With the July 3 deadline coming up for DeWine to make a move, many residents are still skeptical of the government&#8217;s response. 
“We want transparency and we want the freedom to choose, and we can’t be letting these corporations decide the fate of our lives anymore,” Hilary Flint, who helped form the Unity Council, <a href="https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_a0019294-16b8-11ee-a501-43efcf088008.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Center Square. 
Some of the train cars, operated by Norfolk Southern, were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/half-of-u-s-investigators-fell-ill-while-studying-east-palestine-train-derailment-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">carrying</a> vinyl chloride, a human carcinogen used to manufacture PVC, and formed massive plumes of black smoke visible throughout eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania after it was released via controlled burn. 
The group blasted DeWine in its petition for the governor to declare the aftermath of the 53-car train wreck an emergency. 
“To make matters worse, Governor DeWine has given control of the clean-up to Norfolk Southern – the same company responsible for the disaster – regarding testing and the financial aid process for impacted people and businesses. It’s not only a conflict of interest, it’s an insult to those affected, and Norfolk has left thousands without proper care,” the emergency petition <a href="https://only.one/act/east-palestine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. 
The petition says that many in the East Palestine community believe that they are in danger of being forgotten, and they don’t trust the government’s response to the disaster. 
“They’ve created such an environment of distrust with how they handled this in the beginning and continue to — and when I say ‘they,’ I mean Norfolk Southern, the government, any government agencies like the EPA,” Flint said.
DeWine’s press secretary, Dan Tierney, said that the emergency declaration would not be approved because Norfolk Southern was covering the financial burden of the derailment. 
“The FEMA program is designed as, essentially, an insurer of last resort for property damage,” Tierney told The Center Square. “Very early on, if we were hearing things where somebody wasn’t getting reimbursed for (a) hotel or per-diem food, we’d bring it to Norfolk Southern’s attention and they’d be paying for it.”
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Flint has not been satisfied with the government&#8217;s handling, saying that not enough tests were being conducted on homes impacted by the accident. 
“They can’t say there’s not property damage because they have not even gone into people’s homes to test for everything,” Flint said. “They’re testing for a very specific few chemicals when this was many chemicals.”

U.S.-OHIO-FREIGHT TRAIN-TOXIC CHEMICALS-DERAILMENT

‘Environment Of Distrust’: East Palestine Residents Slam Government Response To Train Disaster

Pennsylvania

A railway reform bill championed by freshman Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jd-vance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">J.D. Vance</a> (R-OH) is winning over high-profile support from strange political bedfellows as it heads into committee on Wednesday.
<a href="https://www.brown.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/railway_safety_act_of_2023_text.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Railway Safety Act of 2023</a> was drafted after a train derailment and chemical spill contaminated the area around the small town of East Palestine, Ohio, on February 3. The accident drew national attention as residents reported symptoms of nausea and dizziness and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cincinnati-and-northern-kentucky-shut-down-water-intakes-after-train-derailment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">regional water supplies</a> across several neighboring states showed signs of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/prominent-grocery-store-chain-pulls-water-bottles-sourced-near-east-palestine-train-disaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contamination</a>. The Department of Transportation and Norfolk Southern, the company that owned and operated the derailed train, were blasted by both sides of the aisle for perceived deficiencies in their safety standards.
The bill aims to “enhance safety requirements for trains transporting hazardous materials” and would increase inspection requirements, raise fines for safety violations, limit the size of trains, and set a minimum crew size of two certified personnel for all freight trains.
Vance’s bill has generated a considerable amount of bipartisan support — in addition to its Republican cosponsors, Josh Hawley (MO) and Marco Rubio (FL), the Rail Safety Act was also cosponsored by fellow Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown (D), one of the Senate’s <a href="https://progressivepunch.org/scores.htm?house=senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">most progressive</a> members, as well as other Rust Belt Democrats Bob Casey and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and President Biden have also <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3993951-trump-throws-support-behind-bipartisan-railway-safety-bill/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signaled</a> their support for the bill.
Former President Trump, Biden’s predecessor and possible opponent in the upcoming 2024 presidential elections, has also lent his support to the bill. Trump visited East Palestine roughly three weeks after the disaster and slammed Biden for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-will-not-visit-east-palestine-following-train-catastrophe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">failing</a> to do the same. Trump and Vance are close political allies — Trump endorsed Vance in 2022 and the two men toured affected areas in Ohio together after the disaster.
“JD Vance has been working hard in the Senate to make sure nothing like this EVER happens again, and that’s why it’s so important for Congress to pass his Railway Safety Act. JD’s terrific bill has my Complete and Total Endorsement!!!” Trump said via <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/110334093385622636" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Truth Social</a>.
Last week, Brown told <a href="https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/columbus/news/2023/02/22/trump-tours-east-palestine--meets-with-residents" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hill</a> that he believed the bill would have enough support to pass through the Senate, but expressed concern that House Republicans might block it. Railroads are vital to the U.S. economy and move about <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/03/why-freight-railroads-are-so-successful-in-the-us.html#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20freight%20rail%20network,of%20long%20distance%20freight%20volume." target="_blank" rel="noopener">40%</a> of all long-distance freight by volume; many conservative groups have come out in opposition to the bill, arguing that it would create “a slew of significant new regulations that would do little to improve safety while creating gross inefficiencies for thousands of businesses.”
“Labor unions would be granted their long-desired wish to permanently freeze current staffing levels into place as it relates to locomotive operations,” FreedomWorks President Adam Brandon <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/courage-strength-optimism/freedomworks-comes-out-against-bipartisan-rail-safety-bill" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in a letter to Congress, undersigned by over 20 conservative leaders. “This widely opposed policy lacks any justification, as shown by the previous administration, and ignores the fact that the train that derailed in Ohio had three people operating the train.”
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The former president’s support could prove to be decisive, as Trump continues to hold considerable sway over the Republican grassroots and a <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2024/president/us/2024_republican_presidential_nomination-7548.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commanding lead</a> in the party’s primary, giving him considerable influence within the party.
Notably, perennial Trump antagonist Mitt Romney(R-UT) has also come out in support of the bill, as well as Senators Mike Braun (R-IN) and Roger Marshall (R-KS).
“I’m thankful to have the backing of Senators Braun, Marshall, and Romney for this commonsense piece of legislation,” Vance said in a press release given to The Daily Wire. “Their support for this bill demonstrates the widespread, bipartisan consensus building for improvements to railway safety standards across the nation.”
If the bill makes its way to President Biden’s desk, it would be the first major piece of legislation passed by the divided 118th Congress.
The Midwest has been a pivotal battleground in recent presidential cycles and neither 2024 contender can afford to lose ground there: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/12/01/donald-trump-will-be-president-thanks-to-80000-people-in-three-states/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">narrow</a> victories in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin propelled Donald Trump to the White House in 2016 and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/12/02/940689086/narrow-wins-in-these-key-states-powered-biden-to-the-presidency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">narrow</a> defeats gave the contest to Biden in 2020. Ohio has historically been a vital bellwether state, but has veered deeper into the Republican camp in the last few presidential cycles — President Obama won the state in 2012 by <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/2016/06/2012_ohio_presidential_electio.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">three</a> points but President Trump carried it by <a href="https://www.politico.com/2020-election/results/ohio/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eight</a> in 2020.

CSX railroad

J.D. Vance’s Railway Reform Bill Picks Up Steam

Vance Railway Reform Bill Picks Up Steam

Congress

Donald Trump

JD Vance

The Norfolk Southern 100-car train derailment and subsequent toxic chemical fallout in East Palestine, Ohio, caused nearly half of the U.S. government investigators to experience symptoms of illness while studying the health impacts, authorities said.
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/31/health/ohio-train-derailment-cdc-team-symptoms/index.html">CNN</a> last week that seven of the 15-member crew, which included members of the Epidemic Intelligence Service, began feeling symptoms while surveying town residents&#8217; homes near the contaminated areas.
&#8220;Symptoms resolved for most team members later the same afternoon, and everyone resumed work on survey data collection within 24 hours,&#8221; a CDC spokesperson told the network. &#8220;Impacted team members have not reported ongoing health effects.&#8221;
Local and state authorities previously evacuated all residents within one mile of the February 3 derailment and started a controlled burn of substances on the vehicle. Five of those train cars emitted vinyl chloride, a human carcinogen used to manufacture PVC, and formed massive plumes of black smoke visible throughout eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Residents have since raised the alarm over health symptoms they experienced after the controlled burn.
Before working from their hotels, some group members began experiencing sore throats, headaches, coughing, and nausea, which mirrored the symptoms reported by many of the town&#8217;s residents near the derailment site.
Federal officials did not disclose what caused investigators to experience such symptoms.
Two contractors from the Environmental Protection Agency out of 100 personnel working on the derailment also reported health symptoms after working in areas where the chemicals created strong odors.
The Ohio Department of Health published the results of <a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/OHIOGOVERNOR/bulletins/34c4146?reqfrom=share">surveys</a> conducted at its East Palestine Health Assessment Clinic, plus door-to-door visits by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, four weeks after the chemical catastrophe permeated the town&#8217;s atmosphere.
The results showed more than half of the 168 After Chemical Exposure (ACE) community surveys reported headaches, anxiety, coughing, fatigue, and irritated skin after the derailment. However, the surveys did not indicate if the residents were exposed to harmful levels of chemicals or what caused their symptoms.
EPA officials, along with the Justice Department, announced a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-epa-unveil-lawsuit-against-norfolk-southern-over-east-palestine-train-crash">lawsuit</a> on Friday against Norfolk Southern, seeking &#8220;penalties and injunctive relief for the unlawful discharge of pollutants, oil, and hazardous substances&#8221; under the Clean Water Act, as well as &#8220;declaratory judgment on liability for past and future costs&#8221; related to the incident under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.
The complaint from the EPA and Justice Department said materials released from the train cars, such as vinyl chloride, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, Ethylhexyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, isobutylene, and benzene residue, have been &#8220;associated variously&#8221; with impaired fetal development, organ damage, cancers, and other health conditions with a sufficiently high degree of exposure. Yet, state and federal officials have repeatedly claimed that the air and water supplies in East Palestine are safe for residents.
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw testified before Congress earlier this month regarding the derailment but made no specific promises regarding the firm&#8217;s commitment to handling economic and health fallout into the future.
Ben Zeisloft contributed to this report.

US-TRANSPORT-ACCIDENT-FIRE

Half Of U.S. Investigators Fell Ill While Studying East Palestine Train Derailment: Report

Half Of U.S. Investigators Fell Ill Studying East Palestine Train Derailment: Report

Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ted-cruz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ted Cruz</a> (R-TX) used a congressional hearing on Wednesday to air criticisms of Transportation Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pete-buttigieg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pete Buttigieg</a>&#8216;s response to the Norfolk Southern train derailment disaster in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/east-palestine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">East Palestine</a>, Ohio, early last month.
The Texas Republican argued how a &#8220;delayed and disjointed response by the Biden administration&#8221; has not allayed the concerns of local residents terrified by the health and environmental threats posed by the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/air-quality-following-controlled-burn-at-ohio-derailment-site-basically-what-it-was-before-train-crash-governor-claims" target="_blank" rel="noopener">so-called controlled burn</a> of toxic chemicals that spilled out of tanker cars.
&#8220;It took Secretary Buttigieg 10 days to even acknowledge the derailment,&#8221; Cruz said. &#8220;After he was called out, he did a 180 and tried to sell a slew of big government regulatory proposals, desperate to disguise the failure of the administration to act sooner.&#8221;
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It took 10 days for Pete Buttigieg to even acknowledge the East Palestine derailment.
And when he finally said something, he only tried to distract from his own failures and push regulations which have little to no connection to the East Palestine derailment. <a href="https://t.co/1YtTGJtW0T">pic.twitter.com/1YtTGJtW0T</a>
&mdash; Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenTedCruz/status/1638566212102770691?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Blunders followed, according to Cruz, who cited the secretary&#8217;s mention of a particular withdrawn brake rule as an example of why the Transportation Department <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2023/02/23/ntsb-chair-brake-rule-buttigieg-blamed-trump-for-repealing-would-not-have-prevented-east-palestine-derailment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">faced &#8220;constraints.&#8221;</a> Illustrating the problem with that comment, Cruz pointed out, was that the Biden administration&#8217;s own chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, Jennifer Homendy, had <a href="https://twitter.com/JenniferHomendy/status/1626379361027858432?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to then go and explain how it was &#8220;FALSE&#8221;</a> to say it would have prevented the East Palestine derailment.
&#8220;Undeterred, Secretary Buttigieg then released a laundry list of regulatory proposals, many of which had little to no connection to the East Palestine derailment,&#8221; Cruz added.
&#8220;In an effort to further distract from his own failed response, Secretary Buttigieg has suggested that President Trump was responsible for the derailment in East Palestine,&#8221; the senator said.
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&#8220;I know that&#8217;s a frequent playbook of this administration, blaming every problem on President Trump, but not even The Washington Post fact-checker who usually goes out of his way to back Democrat claims, bought this claim,&#8221; Cruz continued before <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/02/27/so-far-trumps-rollback-regulations-cant-be-blamed-ohio-train-wreck/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">citing a passage</a> from the publication&#8217;s analysis.
The remarks were made during a hearing held by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation <a href="https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2023/3/executive-session" target="_blank" rel="noopener">focused on improving rail safety</a> following the East Palestine incident. Cruz is the ranking member of the panel.
Buttigieg has called not speaking out sooner about the train derailment a &#8220;lesson learned&#8221; for himself. &#8220;I was focused on just making sure that our folks on the ground were all set, but could have spoken sooner about how strongly I felt about this incident,&#8221; <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ohio-train-derailment-pete-buttigieg/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he told CBS News</a>.
The secretary travelled the site in late February, but only after former President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook-pm/2023/02/23/buttigieg-admits-regret-at-derailment-site-00084178" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paid a visit a day earlier</a>.
At the conclusion of his opening remarks on Wednesday, Cruz lauded two of the witnesses, Sens. J.D. Vance and Sherrod Brown, a Republican and Democrat from Ohio, respectively, for their efforts to bring attention to helping people affected by the derailment.
&#8220;I look forward to continuing to work closely with both of you and with the chairwoman on a bipartisan, serious rail safety package,&#8221; Cruz concluded.

Ted Cruz

Cruz Ridicules Buttigieg At Train Derailment Hearing

Pete Buttigieg

Yet another Norfolk Southern train derailed on Thursday just as the company&#8217;s CEO was testifying to Congress about the disastrous chemical train crash in Ohio.
The company said about 30 empty cars on a Norfolk Southern train derailed in Alabama as it was traveling from Atlanta to Mississippi.
“Norfolk Southern is responding to a derailment in Piedmont, Alabama,” the company <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/railroads/3892022-norfolk-southern-train-derails-in-alabama-as-ceo-testifies-in-congress/">said</a> in a statement. “There are no reports of injuries and no reports of a hazardous materials release. We are working in close coordination with local officials.”
Calhoun County Sheriff Matthew Wade <a href="https://www.wbrc.com/2023/03/09/train-derails-east-calhoun-county/">said</a> there have been no injuries or property damage. There is also no risk of hazardous material, he said.
The derailment occurred around the same time Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw appeared before the Senate to discuss other recent derailments, including a train carrying noxious chemicals that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio last month.
Officials are still dealing with the fallout and cleanup around the accident site. They decided to do a controlled burn of the chemicals in the train cars, releasing them into the air. One of those chemicals was vinyl chloride, a highly flammable substance used to make PVC and known to cause cancer.
Residents of East Palestine were initially evacuated but later told they could return to their homes. However, many are concerned that the dangerous materials have impacted air and water quality, and some residents have reported negative health effects, including trouble breathing, headaches, and damage to their voices. Animals have also died in the wake of the crash, including thousands of fish.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) peppered Shaw with questions about rail safety, pushing him to commit to lobbying for improved safety regulations, rather than against them.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Sen. Merkley presses the CEO of Norfolk Southern on the company&#39;s safety regulations following the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. <a href="https://t.co/zRa2mfDdWg">https://t.co/zRa2mfDdWg</a> <a href="https://t.co/pjWx25Va1J">pic.twitter.com/pjWx25Va1J</a>
&mdash; The Associated Press (@AP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AP/status/1633902074713784325?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2023</a></blockquote>
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“Will your team lobby for safety improvements rather than against them?” Merkley asked Shaw, who did not answer directly.
“I just really thought when you said ‘turn over a new leaf,’ I thought you were saying you were going to now support safety regulations,” Merkley said. “I’m sorry you can’t tell this crowd here today that would like to hear that, that that is the case.”
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) testified as a witness and suggested the disaster received a slow response because there was little political reward in a swift one.
“I think that our leadership, our media, and our politicians were slow to respond to this crisis in part because a certain segment of our leadership feels like the people of East Palestine are a little out of style,” Vance said. “They have the wrong politics, they’re a little too rural. Maybe a little too white.”
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Must Watch
Senator <a href="https://twitter.com/JDVance1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JDVance1</a>&#39;s Full Testimony At Senate Hearing On The Norfolk Southern Derailment In East Palestine, Ohio 
Senator Vance Responding To People Claiming His Legislation Violates The &quot;Free Market&quot;:
&quot;This is an industry that enjoys special subsidies that almost no… <a href="https://t.co/qdNZ9SDZ6l">https://t.co/qdNZ9SDZ6l</a> <a href="https://t.co/vjIV9xi6n5">pic.twitter.com/vjIV9xi6n5</a>
&mdash; The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) <a href="https://twitter.com/ColumbiaBugle/status/1633870123957092380?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Earlier this week, a Norfolk Southern conductor was killed when a dump truck crashed into a train, raising more questions about the company’s safety climate.
In the aftermath of the accidents, the National Transportation Safety Board this week announced a special investigation into Norfolk Southern.

Senate Environment Committee Hearing On Norfolk Southern Train Derailment

Another Norfolk Southern Train Derails As CEO Testifies To Congress

This article is adapted from today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update. To listen to the podcast version, click <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
East Palestine Payouts
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announced Monday that Norfolk Southern — the company at the center of the disastrous derailment in East Palestine — will pay “millions” for its error. Along with the train company, the Biden administration has received a lot of criticism for its handling of the disaster, including from Ohio Senator J.D. Vance (R):
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JD Vance torches Biden admin response to Ohio disaster: &#39;Total catastrophic failure&#39; <a href="https://t.co/gxXqL1shjJ">pic.twitter.com/gxXqL1shjJ</a>
&mdash; Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) <a href="https://twitter.com/IngrahamAngle/status/1632002619488043011?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Newsom Goes To Mexico
California Governor Gavin Newsom is drawing fire from critics for vacationing in Baja, Mexico. This comes as his state battles severe weather and power outages. Daily Wire Senior Editor Cabot Phillips told The Morning Wire&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Afternoon Update</a> the following:
<blockquote>Last week, California was pummeled by historic snowstorms leaving many stranded in their homes and desperate for help — especially in the San Bernardino Mountain region. On Thursday, Newsom left the state for a “personal trip” to Baja California — a day after he declared a State of Emergency in 13 of the state’s counties. On Sunday, his office announced that Newsom had returned to California. While Newsom was away, rescue workers saved at least 150 people unable to leave their homes due to the heavy snowfall. First responders are delivering food and providing meals for many who are unable to travel to grocery stores either due to business closures or blocked roadways. More storms are expected to drop mounds of snow and precipitation onto the state in the days ahead.</blockquote>
&#8220;Blackout Rage Gallons&#8221; Threaten College Kids
The University of Massachusetts-Amherst is warning other schools of a new viral trend, started on TikTok that encourages college students to chug so-called “blackout rage gallons,” or BORGS — a potent mix of alcohol, flavoring, electrolytes, and water. UMass students had to call for the ambulance at least 28 times, and neighboring towns had to help Amherst deal with the binge drinking over the weekend.
Ukrainian Pilots Trained In America
Two Ukrainian pilots are in the U.S. for operations related to military training of U.S. aircraft — including F-16s. The Daily Wire&#8217;s Tim Pearce reported on the Afternoon update &#8220;that Congressional and Pentagon officials have told NBC news that the two pilots are currently in Tucson where their skills are being tested in flight simulators. The goals here are to improve the pilots’ skills and evaluate how long a proper training program could take. Ten additional Ukrainians have been approved by Congress for additional assessments as early as this month&#8221;
&#8220;Officials say that these training sessions will help the U.S. advise Ukraine’s military on how to better use the equipment it already has,&#8221; Pearce added.
Left-Wing Rioters Arrested
A night of fire and violence at the future site of a police training center in Atlanta on Sunday led to the arrests of 35 people, according to authorities. Here with more is Daily Wire Reporter Daniel Chaitin:
<blockquote>Police said a group of “violent agitators” wearing all-black clothing attacked the construction area of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, which critics have dubbed “Cop City.” People threw large rocks as well as Molotov cocktails during the clash, and some construction equipment caught fire. Police said 35 people were detained and authorities released a list showing 23 individuals, most of whom are from out of state, had been charged with domestic terrorism, a felony that could land them in prison for decades. Among those arrested and charged was Thomas Jurgens, an attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center.</blockquote>
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Walgreens Won&#8217;t Sell Abortion Pill In 21 States
The pharmaceutical giant Walgreens is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walgreens-wont-distribute-abortion-pill-in-21-states-spokesperson-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defending itself</a> after it announced that it will not sell or distribute an Abortion Pill in 21 States, either by mail or via retail. For more, here’s Daily Wire reporter Brandon Drey:
<blockquote>The states that Walgreens won’t be selling the pills include Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, and Montana, where the drug is legal. The decision followed a letter from 20 Republican attorneys general last month warning that doing so would violate state law. A spokesperson for the company said recently “This is a very complex and in flux area of the law, and the company is “taking that into account” as it seeks FDA certification to sell the drug. Walgreens will still sell it where it is legal.</blockquote>
To listen to the audio version of this podcast, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/morning-wire/id1576594336" target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here</a>. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.

Monday stock photo

Monday Afternoon Update: East Palestine Payouts, Anti-Cop Rioters Arrested, Newsom Bails To Baja

Abortion

California

Georgia

Morning Wire

Podcast

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) highlighted numerous problems facing the United States during an interview over the weekend, problems that have largely erupted under the leadership of President Joe Biden.
Manchin made the remarks during a CBS News interview Sunday with Margaret Brennan on &#8220;Face the Nation,&#8221; while talking about the recent train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
&#8220;It&#8217;s time for us to get serious about this. We&#8217;re moving many, many products, many more products on the rails and on our roads than we ever did before. And we have a lot of people who don&#8217;t want any pipelines. Pipelines would help alleviate a lot of this problem with the oil that we need in our country and we will be using for quite some time to do it safer,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But out of sight, out of mind. They are thinking, if you don&#8217;t have a pipeline, you won&#8217;t be using the product. Well, that&#8217;s far from the truth. And this is the results of people just not making good decisions. And it&#8217;s what&#8217;s broken in West Virginia and broken across the country as far as in Washington, the politics.&#8221;
Brennan noted that Manchin recently gave a &#8220;fiery speech&#8221; in the Senate in which he was at odds with the Biden administration and many in the Democrat Party over their &#8220;out-of-control spending and are refusing to negotiate.&#8221;
Manchin said that the top priority for U.S. officials right now should be getting back &#8220;to normal&#8221; since the pandemic is over.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve gone from $3.5 trillion in spending to over $6.2 trillion in spending every year,&#8221; Manchin said. &#8220;That&#8217;s just unacceptable. You&#8217;ve got to sit down. Anybody that thinks we don&#8217;t have a problem in Washington, anybody that thinks that the politics is not broken in Washington is not living in reality, does not want to face the facts and the truth.&#8221;
Manchin said that the U.S. doesn&#8217;t &#8220;even have a budget anymore&#8221; and that Biden is in violation of U.S. law right now because he is a month late in putting out his budget.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve got a runaway debt. We got inflation that&#8217;s killing people,&#8221; Manchin said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve got an unsecured energy. We have a border that&#8217;s out of control.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Sen. Joe Manchin says he will support proposed bipartisan rail safety legislation" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dxZEMGoWo0E?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: Good morning, Brennan. Thank &#8212; Margaret, thanks for having me.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to start on that derailment.
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: Yes.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The president last week praised bipartisan railway safety legislation that would have new rules for trains carrying hazardous materials, increased fines for safety violations, phase in newer cars.
Will you vote for it? Is that sufficient?
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: Yes, I&#8217;m going to be supporting that. We need to do it.
Back in 2015, in Mount Carbon in West Virginia, we had a derailment, 27 cars, tanker cars carrying Bakken oil. It went off the tracks and derailed and exploded and caused a tremendous problem there. And it was very, very dangerous. It could have been a little &#8212; a lot worse, if it had been a little farther down the tracks, could have torn up a whole town.
But with that we were recommended that the electronic pneumatic brakes should be something &#8212; should be considered that might prevent this, routine maintenance checks and auditing and things of this sort. I don&#8217;t think any of that has been done.
And it&#8217;s time for us to get serious about this. We&#8217;re moving many, many products, many more products on the rails and on our roads than we ever did before. And we have a lot of people who don&#8217;t want any pipelines. Pipelines would help alleviate a lot of this problem with the oil that we need in our country and we will be using for quite some time to do it safer.
But out of sight, out of mind. They are thinking, if you don&#8217;t have a pipeline, you won&#8217;t be using the product. Well, that&#8217;s far from the truth. And this is the results of people just not making good decisions. And it&#8217;s what&#8217;s broken in &#8212; in &#8212; in West Virginia. And &#8212; and&#8230;
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: &#8230; broken across the country as far as in Washington, the politics.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want&#8230;
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: It&#8217;s broken. It needs to be fixed.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want &#8212; I want to come back to energy in a moment.
You&#8217;re saying it&#8217;s broken. You gave a pretty fiery speech a few days ago in the Senate. You&#8217;re at odds with the White House and with many in your own party because you are saying that Democrats need to talk about out-of- control spending and are refusing to negotiate.
You did ding Republicans for not offering specific cuts. If you are the dealmaker &#8212; you seem to be positioning yourself there &#8212; where is it that you see room for negotiation?
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: Well, Margaret, first of all, I encourage Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
I was hoping that he would, first of all, take things off the table that doesn&#8217;t cause a conflict, but most &#8212; most importantly, sit down with the president. And reached out to the White House. They did sit down, had a meeting. I&#8217;m encouraging much more of that.
But what we can do is, can&#8217;t we get together and just talk about how do we have this much debt accumulated this &#8212; in this short of a period of time? Within 10 years, Margaret, we have accumulated the greatest amount of debt in the history of our country in the shortest period of time. Can&#8217;t we at least find out what we did and how we expanded?
I know that COVID did so much of it. But, you know, we&#8217;re past the COVID&#8230;
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: &#8230; problems. And what we need to do is to get back to normal.
But we&#8217;ve gone from $3.5 trillion in spending to over $6.2 trillion in spending every year in the last 10 years. That&#8217;s just unacceptable. You&#8217;ve got to sit down. Anybody that thinks we don&#8217;t have a problem in Washington, anybody that thinks that the politics is not broken in Washington is not living in reality, does not want to face the facts and the truth.
MARGARET BRENNAN: OK.
So &#8212; so, what is the truth here? Because Social Security and Medicare make up nearly 40 percent of spending in 2023. If no one is touching those programs, where are you finding the cuts?
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: Well, first of all, just do our job on time.
We&#8217;ve been told that, if we just had a budget done &#8212; we don&#8217;t even have a budget anymore. The president is &#8212; is a month late in putting his budget out, which will come out next week. But I don&#8217;t see the House or the Senate bringing a budget forward. And, basically, by a piece of legislation was passed back in 1985, we&#8217;re supposed to have our budgets&#8230;
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: &#8230; from the House and the Senate done by April the 1st.
The president basically submits his in February, and, by September the 30th &#8212; I&#8217;m told there&#8217;s billions and billions of dollars of savings just right there if we just do it on time.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Sure. But that&#8217;s not&#8230;
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: We&#8217;re not even doing that.
MARGARET BRENNAN: That &#8212; right.
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: That&#8217;s what I say it&#8217;s, not working. That&#8217;s&#8230;
MARGARET BRENNAN: But that &#8212; but&#8230;
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: But it gets a downward trajection, basically, and capping&#8230;
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes, but more has to be done&#8230;
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: How about capping some of the&#8230;
MARGARET BRENNAN: &#8230; done than that. I mean, you know&#8230;
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: Yes, capping some of the discretionary spending.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You &#8212; OK.
Well, there&#8217;s a lot to talk about right there. But I want to ask you, what is Joe&#8230;
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: Hey, Mar&#8230;
MARGARET BRENNAN: What is Joe Manchin looking for in this deal? Are you looking for your permitting reform, for example, that Democrats didn&#8217;t deliver on, though they had told you that you would have an agreement on?
Are you looking for that to be tucked into a potential bill in this agreement that you&#8217;re saying has to be struck between Republicans and Democrats?
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: Well, rather &#8212; tucking something in, we&#8217;re not trying to hide anything, basically.
If we don&#8217;t do permitting, and we don&#8217;t have permitting reform in America, we&#8217;re not going to meet the challenges and be energy-independent energy- secured. If you&#8217;re not energy-secured, you&#8217;re definitely not going to be a superpower of the world, and depending on other parts of the world to provide what you won&#8217;t do for yourself.
That has to be done. I don&#8217;t care what side of the arena you&#8217;re on, if you want transmission, if you want pipelines, if you realize we&#8217;re going to have a balanced energy proposal. That&#8217;s what the Inflation Reduction Act was for, energy security. The administration, this administration has touted that as strictly an environmental bill.
It&#8217;s good for the environment, but it&#8217;s also very, very necessary for us to have the fossil energy&#8230;
MARGARET BRENNAN: Mm-hmm.
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: &#8230; using it better and cleaner than anywhere in the world to have the security we need. That&#8217;s what we need to do. And that&#8217;s what they&#8217;ve been avoiding.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: You have to have permitting. If not, all this is going to be voided.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about what appears to be some separation between you and the president.
You were quoted a few days ago as saying: &#8220;We&#8217;re just in different ball games. We&#8217;re not even in the same ballpark on many things.&#8221;
Are you going to endorse Joe Biden if he runs for reelection?
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: Oh, there&#8217;s plenty of time for the election. This is the problem with America right now. We start an election every time there&#8217;s a cycle coming up.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes, he&#8217;s the leader of your party.
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: I &#8212; I &#8212; no, the bottom line is, let&#8217;s see who&#8217;s involved. Let&#8217;s wait until we see who all the players are. Let&#8217;s just wait until it all comes out.
My main purpose right now is to work for my country and my &#8212; and my state. That&#8217;s my responsibility. I&#8217;m not going to make my announcement for anything until the end of the year. I&#8217;m not going to make a decision what my political position is going to be or where I&#8217;m going to do for my political future.
I won&#8217;t do it until the end of the year. I got too much work to do now.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Your political future, you mean the question of whether you personally are going to run for reelection in the Senate in West Virginia.
Your Republican governor, Jim Justice, says he&#8217;s going to run for your seat, or he thinks he&#8217;s got a good shot at it. Why haven&#8217;t you made up your mind?
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: There&#8217;s too &#8212; the bottom line, I got plenty of time to make up my mind. The election is not until November 2024. We don&#8217;t even file until January of 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: And to be running and basically &#8212; not basically looking at the problems you have, we&#8217;ve got a runaway debt. We got inflation that&#8217;s killing people.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: We&#8217;ve got an unsecured energy. We have a border that&#8217;s out of control.
You&#8217;re telling me we&#8217;re in the same ball game or the same ballpark? I don&#8217;t think so.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You said let&#8217;s see who all the players are when it comes to running for president.
You&#8217;ve said you&#8217;re not running for president. Is that an open question, though? Who &#8212; who do you think&#8230;
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: I didn&#8217;t say that. I didn&#8217;t say anything about that.
I &#8212; the bottom line is, I will make my political decision in December, whatever it may be.
MARGARET BRENNAN: To run for president?
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: I&#8217;m not taking anything off the table, and I&#8217;m not put &#8212; and I&#8217;m not putting anything on the table.
I said I will make a decision in January &#8212; at this &#8212; at the end of this year.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You&#8217;ll make a decision at the end of this year as to&#8230;
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: Simply that.
MARGARET BRENNAN: &#8230; as to who you will endorse for president?
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: What my political future will be, what&#8230;
MARGARET BRENNAN: No, but for president.
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: What I will be involved with, how I will be involved.
I will be making &#8212; any decisions I make politically will not be done until the end of the year. I&#8217;m focused on fixing what&#8217;s wrong with Washington. And the politics are so toxic, the more you talk about this party, that party, what candidate and this candidate.
Look at what you have facing you right now. You&#8217;ve got inflation. You&#8217;ve got, basically, energy. You&#8217;ve got these unsecured borders. You&#8217;ve got geopolitical unrest. And we&#8217;re talking about everything but that.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We are &#8212; we have a lot to talk about.
And, Senator Manchin, you&#8217;re welcome back.
(LAUGHTER)
MARGARET BRENNAN: We got to leave it there, because&#8230;
SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: I&#8217;m happy to come back, Margaret, any time.</blockquote>

Meet the Press

Manchin Unloads On Democrats In Highlighting Problems With America Under Biden’s Leadership

Joe Manchin

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared to be triggered by claims that he only visited the site of the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, because former President Donald Trump did it first.
<a href="https://dailywire.com/news/pete-buttigieg-takes-personal-time-in-midst-of-east-palestine-disaster-asks-if-he-can-snap-photo-of-reporter-who-dares-to-question-him/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Buttigieg</a> <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/05/politics/pete-buttigieg-ohio-train-derailment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke at length</a> on a number of topics with CNN senior reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere, but the topic still drawing the most oxygen is the East Palestine derailment — and while the former mayor conceded a few mistakes, he argued that most of critics were not being fair to him.
Admitting that he should probably have gone to the site of the derailment — which was followed by a massive crash, a toxic chemical spill, and a failed attempt at a controlled burn — much earlier than he did (weeks after the initial crash), <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/pete-buttigiegs-press-secretary-only-wants-to-do-her-job-if-cameras-are-off/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Buttigieg</a> bristled at the idea that he was somehow goaded into making an appearance only after <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/ben-shapiro-tells-megyn-kelly-trump-hit-east-palestine-visit-out-of-the-park/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump showed up</a> with trucks filled with clean drinking water and other supplies.
&#8220;That’s bulls***,&#8221; Buttigieg said. &#8220;We were already going to go.&#8221;
Buttigieg called Trump&#8217;s visit &#8220;somewhat maddening – to see someone who did a lot try to gut not just rail safety regulations, but the EPA, which is the number one thing standing between that community and a total loss of accountability for Norfolk Southern and then show up giving out bottled water and campaign swag?&#8221;
Buttigieg also responded to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/buttigieg-mocked-appearing-wear-dress-boots-while-ground-east-palestine-ohio" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticisms</a> aimed at his footwear — calling those complaints &#8220;maddening&#8221; as well.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Serious question &#8211; does <a href="https://twitter.com/SecretaryPete?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecretaryPete</a> think these are work boots? <a href="https://t.co/ldp08TiEwW">pic.twitter.com/ldp08TiEwW</a>
&mdash; Abigail Marone 🇺🇸 (@abigailmarone) <a href="https://twitter.com/abigailmarone/status/1628798907768610817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
<p class="paragraph inline-placeholder" data-uri="archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_E8B8656C-F738-C80A-0574-A955D833B6E5@published" data-editable="text" data-component-name="paragraph" data-analytics-observe="off">&#8220;Who cares what shoes I was wearing, when I was there to draw attention to an agenda that will save lives on our railroads?&#8221; he asked.
<p data-uri="archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_E8B8656C-F738-C80A-0574-A955D833B6E5@published" data-editable="text" data-component-name="paragraph" data-analytics-observe="off">The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, went on to lash out at his critics — suggesting that they were the ones who were out of touch.
<p data-uri="archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_E8B8656C-F738-C80A-0574-A955D833B6E5@published" data-editable="text" data-component-name="paragraph" data-analytics-observe="off">&#8220;It’s really rich to see some of these folks – the former president, these Fox hosts – who are literally lifelong card-carrying members of the East Coast elite, whose top economic policy priority has always been tax cuts for the wealthy, and who wouldn’t know their way around a T.J. Maxx if their life depended on it, to be presenting themselves as if they genuinely care about the forgotten middle of the country,&#8221; Buttigieg complained. &#8220;You think Tucker Carlson knows the difference between a T.J. Maxx and a Kohl’s?&#8221;

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Visits Ohio Derailment Site

Pete Buttigieg Triggered By Claims He Only Went To East Palestine Because Trump Did

Department of Transportation

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