White House won’t say if Biden will drink East Palestine water during visit

The White House declined to say whether President Joe Biden would drink the water in East Palestine, Ohio, during his visit to the community one year after a train derailment resulted in an environmental disaster that had repercussions for residents’ water sources and air quality.

“The president’s focus has been to do everything that he can to support this community from day one,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday. “We get what’s going on. We understand what’s going on. That’s why we’ve had the [Environmental Protection Agency]. That’s why we had [the Department of Transportation]. That’s why we had [the Department of Health and Human Services]. That’s why we’ve had [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] on the ground.”

Jean-Pierre repeated that Biden’s travel to East Palestine next month, the date of which is unconfirmed, will not be a “political stunt,” despite persistent criticism over his delay in surveying the disaster zone. On Feb. 3 last year, 38 Norfolk Southern freight train carriages, several of which were carrying hazardous materials, left the track, some of them burning for days after the crash.

“This is about this president being a president for everyone and showing up, showing up for this community,” the press secretary said. “That’s what this is about, not going to get into some sort of political stunts about drinking water. We’re going to focus about making sure that they have what they need, and the president was invited by the mayor and community leaders.”

“Something horrible happened to that community. A derailment happened in that community that caused a lot of, you know, some damage, real damage to folks who live there,” she added. “It’s not going to be about politics. It’s not about being in a red state or blue state.”

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Earlier, Jean-Pierre referred reporters to the Justice Department regarding the likelihood of a damage settlement or compensation package for the community over the disaster.

“We want to make sure that Norfolk Southern is held to account. We’re going to make sure that happens,” she said. “We want to make sure that they pay, they pay for the derailment that they caused.”

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