The Vice President visited his home state on the second anniversary of the explosive train derailment.
On Monday, Vice President J.D. Vance visited the village of East Palestine on the second anniversary of the train derailment that caused a toxic explosion of chemicals into the surrounding air and waterways.
President Trump and I have never forgotten the people of East Palestine, and we will never stop fighting for the cleanup effort in this community to be completed.
We are with you for the long haul. pic.twitter.com/wg5vHmvDXM— Vice President JD Vance (@VP) February 4, 2025
Vance also attended a roundtable with local stakeholders, first responders, and community business owners. He said in an interview afterwards, “I think showing up is important, but there is action behind it.”
“So when people say we want to rebuild here, we also want to have confidence long term that it’s safe and environmentally sound. Well, the only way you can do that is by actually sending people like the [Environmental Protection Agency] continuously to finish the cleanup, to do the testing, and not just do it for a year or two years but to do it for the next 10 to 15 years.”
During his press conference inside the garage of the East Palestine Fire Department, Vance said that people have to be confident that “they can build a business here, that they can raise a family here. That’s going to take the long-term commitment of the Environmental Protection Agency but also the whole administration. And that’s certainly something that people here can expect.”
New EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin was in attendance at the visit. He said, “I know how much of a priority 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 to do everything in our power to make sure this is completed as quickly as possible.”
Just finished my first official trip as @EPA Administrator, traveling with @VP to East Palestine, Ohio. Heading straight back to the office now at EPA HQs. pic.twitter.com/899GqYSLp7
— Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) February 3, 2025
The catastrophic train derailment occurred less than three weeks after Vance became a U.S. Senator. He personally pushed the Biden administration to do baseline testing so residents could track their health annually to see if there had been any effect.
While the proposal was not taken up by the Biden administration, Vance has not given up on it. He said, “It would’ve been better if it had been started early, but I actually had the conversation with my team this morning. We still want it to happen, and it’ll still be helpful scientifically for it to happen.”
“I feel very confident we’re going to be able to make it happen,” he continued. “They’re actually negotiating one of the settlements with Norfolk Southern to help pay for this. I really wish it had started 18 months ago, but we are where we are.”
On the first anniversary of the derailment last year, President Trump visited the village of East Palestine.
Vance said, “His visit filled the leadership vacuum left behind by Joe Biden’s indifference towards this disaster. It sent a clear message to the rest of the country that these people are our fellow Americans, and we can’t leave them behind.”
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