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White House pushes back on criticism of President Biden not visiting train derailment site in East Palestine

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said she had "nothing to share" as far as when the president might make a trip to East Palestine.

WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — As we approach three weeks since the train derailment in Columbiana County, many observers have wondered why President Joe Biden has yet to visit East Palestine.

During her briefing on Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said she had "nothing to share" as far as when the president might make a trip to the site of the crash.

"This has been a multi-agency engagement here," Jean-Pierre stated. "When you think about CDC, you think about DOT, you think about FEMA, you think about EPA — they have all been on the ground, working in lockstep, working with the local officials on the ground, including the governor and the senators as well, making sure that we delivered and continue to deliver for the people of East Palestine. That will not stop. And that will continue until we aren't needed on the ground."

Jean-Pierre also noted that Biden has been getting briefed on the situation in East Palestine regularly, including on Tuesday when he spoke from Poland to Gov. Mike DeWine, EPA Administrator Michael Regan, Sen. Sherrod Brown, Rep. Bill Johnson, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro while the group was touring the village.

Among those who have criticized Biden for not coming to East Palestine is the village's mayor Trent Conaway. Conaway told Fox News earlier this week that the president's decision to go to Ukraine and Poland was "the biggest slap in the face." Oddly, Conaway had struck a very different tune just four days earlier, when he told MSNBC a visit from Biden "would actually be more harm than good" due to security concerns.

Jean-Pierre said Thursday that President Biden had not yet spoken to Conaway and had no plans for a conversation.

The briefing came on the same day that U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg visited East Palestine. Jean-Pierre said the trip to Ohio by Buttigieg did not come at Biden's direction. "Secretary Pete went because he believed that it was important for him to go there at this time," she added. 

During his remarks in East Palestine, Buttigieg addressed criticism the Biden administration received from former President Donald Trump, who was in the village a day earlier.

“One thing he could do is express support for reversing the deregulation that happened on his watch," Buttigieg said of Trump, who is seeking the 2024 GOP nomination. "I heard him say he had nothing to do with it even though it was in his administration. So if he had nothing to do with it, and they did it in his administration against his will, maybe he could come out and say that he supports us moving in a different direction."

Trump famously posed in 2017 with a mounds of white paper wrapped in red tape, which he then cut with a pair of scissors. He has argued that trimming regulatory burdens would lead to stronger economic growth.

During his visit to East Palestine on Wednesday, Trump said the community has been met with “indifference and betrayal.” Republican lawmakers have criticized President Joe Biden for not going to the site as well.

"Showing up is having the Environmental Protection Administrator on the ground. Showing up is having the DOT Secretary on the ground to talk about what is the next process, holding to account the company that caused the spill. You know, showing action is also seeing that HHS, CDC, FEMA — all of these guys are on the ground at the direction of this President. So that is taking this very seriously. That matters. That’s what leadership looks like. And leadership matters as well. And that’s what you’re seeing, instead of political stunts that we’re seeing from the other side," responded Jean-Pierre on Thursday.

Editor's Note: The Associated Press along with 3News' Ryan Haidet and Tyler Carey contributed to this story.

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