Joe Biden will finally visit East Palestine, a year after a train derailment near the Ohio border town caused a toxic spill that contaminated the surrounding air and waterways.
The White House confirmed to multiple news outlets that the president would make the trip sometime next month to meet with residents affected by the incident. The one-year anniversary of the derailment is February 3.
Biden previously drew the ire of Republicans and local lawmakers over his decision to visit Kyiv ahead of the first anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine instead of visiting the domestic crash site in the immediate aftermath. Trent Conaway, the mayor of East Palestine, described the trip to Kyiv as a “slap in the face.”
The Biden administration received further criticism over its response to the chemical spill after former President Donald Trump flew there to deliver supplies and bottled water to residents.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited the crash site the following day and later said Biden had not visited as he did not want to disrupt the recovery process.
When asked about visiting East Palestine in September while surveying the damage caused by Hurricane Idalia in Florida, Biden said he had not had the time to go, despite taking several vacations in the intervening period.
