OAN Staff Abril Elfi
1:03 PM – Monday, February 3, 2025
Vice President JD Vance traveled to East Palestine, Ohio, on the second anniversary of the toxic train derailment that shook the Ohio community.
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East Palestine is 20 miles south of Youngstown and 40 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.
Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance, his wife, joined local officials and other Republican Party leaders on Monday — flocking to the scene in order to view the remaining damage, give a speech, and discuss related matters with environmental agency representatives.
Vance was joined by Governor Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin, Senator Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio.), East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway (R-Ohio.), and members of the village council.
The tragedy in East Palestine occurred on February 3rd, 2023, in which a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed and caught fire. The fire spread over several days, releasing extremely toxic fumes, oil spills, and forcing locals to flee their homes with their pets and most important belongings. It also prompted those in the area to worry about the long-term health and economic impacts of the derailment.
Zeldin noted that this was his first stop as the EPA’s new administrator.
“I know how much of a priority that this is for Vice President Vance. And because it is such a priority for him, I will make sure that for the EPA it is our highest priority day in day out doing everything in our power to make sure this is completed as quickly as possible,” Zeldin said.
Vance also went on to praise several local officials in the village, including Conaway and Fire Chief Keith Drabick, as well as the village’s firefighters.
“I think that this community will build back stronger, and part of that is because of the leadership of [Mayor Conaway] and of course the great firefighters. I know that a lot of you took it upon yourself to make sure this community thrived and survived in the wake of that disaster,” Vance said.
“Whether you’re a United States Senator or the Vice President of the United States [Chief Drabick] tells you exactly what he thinks you need to hear,” Vance continued.
DeWine stated that he is looking forward to working with Zeldin and the Trump administration on continuing efforts to clean up the area following the derailment.
“This is a community that is resilient, is tough [and] is strong. It is a great, great community, it is a great place to raise a family. … But it is also a community that continues to need some assistance, and we’re certainly are going to be doing that,” DeWine said.
The GOP vice president promised that the Trump administration would be completely transparent with how much longer that cleanup process would take, once they knew all the details. Vance also criticized the Biden administration for its lack of transparency following the initial incident, arguing that Biden officials were not clear or very concerned with the damage being inflicted on the community during Vance’s time as a U.S. Senator.
“I would say, ‘well, when is the cleanup going to be done,’ and they’d give me a date, and I’d call a couple weeks after that date and I’d say ‘is the cleanup done’ and they’d say ‘no, it’s going to take another few months,’ Vance said.
“I’m not saying everything’s going to go perfect because it never does, but we’re always going to be honest and transparent with the people here,” Vance continued.
He later promised to continue long-term testing on the village’s air, water, and wells.
“People have to be confident that they can invest in a business here, that they can build a business here, that they can raise a family here. That’s going to take the long-term commitment of [not only] the Environmental Protection Agency, but the whole administration, and that’s certainly something that people here can expect and they’ll have,” Vance said.
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