Jordan doubts Biden hired Pete Buttigieg amid fallout in East Palestine: ‘no transportation experience’

Why did President Joe Biden choose Pete Buttigieg to head the Department of Transportation? That’s exactly what Rep. Jim Jordan asked on Twitter Friday as Buttigieg continues to face criticism for handling — or not fixing — a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

The Norfolk Southern derailment that occurred on February 3 raised health and environmental concerns as many of the 38 vehicles involved spilled toxic chemicals including vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, isobutylene and other harmful chemicals into nearby areas.

Jordan, Ohio, suggested on Twitter that hiring Buttigieg “wasn’t a good idea” as he “has no experience in transportation.”

“Maybe it was a bad idea to hire a guy who doesn’t have experience in the transport industry to be the Minister of Transportation?” Jordan asked.

BUTTIGIG DOES QUESTIONS UNTIL HIS PRESS SECRETARY REFUSES TO BE ON CAMERA IN EAST PALESTINE

Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, ran against Biden during the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries. He withdrew from the race, supported Biden, and was later elected to the Biden administration.

He is also a former US Navy intelligence officer.

“Secretary Pete’s response to East Palestine was a total disaster,” Jordan added in another tweet.

“But don’t worry, it was a ‘lesson learned,'” the Republican continued, quoting Buttigieg’s own comment during an interview with CBS News. “Can you imagine the media reaction if a Republican tried this bogus excuse?”

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, Ohio, at the Rayburn House office building on Capitol Hill on February 9, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodeville/Getty Images)

Buttigieg visited Ohio on Thursday, nearly three weeks after the East Palestine train derailment, and was also ridiculed for wearing dress shoes while touring the affected areas. Other officials wore heavy work boots as they roamed the muddy site of the catastrophic train wreck.

Ohio Senate Republican Representative Tom Evans tweeted, “Not at all shocked that Mayor Pete is wearing dress shoes to East Palestine.”

In another tweet, Jordan said, “The people of East Palestine have once again shown us that the D.C. elite is not getting the Real America.”

Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, speaks to media outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C., USA, Tuesday, August 16, 2022. (Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

BUTTIGIG HAS BEEN FUCKED UP FOR SHOWING WEARING MATERIAL BOOTS IN EAST PALESTINE, OHIO

Buttigieg spoke at a press conference during his trip, but did not respond to members of the media, instead sending his press secretary, Kerry Arndt, to answer questions from reporters.

A Department of Transportation spokesman told FOX News Digital after the incident that “the secretary was wearing boots.”

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg (2nd left) visits Department of Transportation investigators at the February 23, 2023 crash site in East Palestine, Ohio. (Brooke LaValley-Pool/Getty Images)

“We don’t have information about what brand they are,” the spokesperson added.

Buttigieg presented a tripartite plan to improve rail safety and accountability and made several public comments ahead of his visit.

BUTTIJIG ACCUSES TRUMP AND RUBIO OF REACTING TO EAST PALESTINE: “NOW THE CAMPAIGN SEASON IS BEGIN”

Buttigieg has come under near-constant criticism from Republican lawmakers and others as he has struggled to navigate a supply chain crisis that has sent shipping prices skyrocketing due to the COVID pandemic, provide clear answers to flight disruptions and system disruptions. Federal Aviation Administration or promptly resolve the train problem. crashes in Ohio and others around the country.

Amid the backlash, Buttigieg defended his response and blamed former President Donald Trump and Republicans like Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, speaks at a press conference near the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, USA, Thursday, February 23, 2023. (Matthew Hatcher/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, speaks at a press conference near the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, USA, Thursday, February 23, 2023. (Matthew Hatcher/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“You know, some theatrical performance of Donald Trump in Palestine was strange, but this is the community that voted overwhelmingly for him. The constituency that contains Palestine voted 71 out of 29 for Donald Trump. I want you to think about the irony. In 2016 it was 68/26. This is Trump County. What do you think about the fact that he went there, despite the fact that the rules he canceled were partly responsible for this tragedy? MSNBC’s Joy Reid asked Buttigieg during Thursday’s segment.

Buttigieg replied, “It was definitely ironic.”

“You break the rules, you relax the rules, you weaken the authority of the administration over the freight rail companies, and then you find yourself wanting to be a great friend of the people who have been affected by the railroad disaster,” he said. added.

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Biden’s spokesman continued: “You know, this is someone who, as far as I know, has never visited a rail wreck when one of them happens in front of him. And there were thousands of them. Even fatal. go. Now that it’s campaign season, I think things are different. We were there to work. We were there to get things done.”

Rubio and other lawmakers called on Buttigieg to step down.

Lindsey Cornick of Fox News contributed to this report.