CNN‘s Jake Tapper pressed Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg about the Biden administration’s response to the Norfolk Southern train derailment nearly a year after the toxic disaster in East Palestine, Ohio.
In an exchange that aired on Monday, Tapper asked Buttigieg why calls for a major disaster declaration — including from Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) — that could unlock additional resources such as health screenings to residents are not being heeded by the federal government.
“The Biden administration refuses to do that,” Tapper said. “They say a disaster declaration does not apply because it’s not a natural disaster. They say Norfolk Southern is responsible. So is that disaster declaration still just off the table for these residents who are clearly suffering?”
CNN: Why won’t Biden approve the Ohio governor’s disaster…
