House Republicans open probe into Pete Buttigieg's response to Ohio train derailment

Feb. 24 (UPI) -- House Republicans announced Friday that they are launching a probe into Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's response to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

Twenty-one Republicans on the House Oversight and Reform Committee requested documentation of when Buttigieg learned about the derailment, saying that they were concerned by the "slow pace in resolving this matter."

"This incident is an environmental and public health emergency that now threatens Americans across state lines," the lawmakers wrote in their letter. "Despite the U.S. Department of Transportation's responsibility to ensure safe and reliable transport in the United States, you ignored the catastrophe for over a week."

Buttigieg responded in a tweet, saying that the National Transportation Safety Board was the agency investigating the incident.

"I am alarmed to learn that the Chair of the House Oversight Committee thinks that the NTSB is part of our department," he wrote.

The Norfolk Southern train derailed on Feb. 3, with about 50 cars crashing off the tracks and erupting into flames.

Fearing an explosion days after the accident, emergency officials ordered a controlled chemical burn from five of the derailed cars, which sent a large plume of black smoke billowing into the atmosphere on Feb. 6.

The Environmental Protection agency has said that chemicals from the train "continue to be released to the air, surface soils, and surface waters" and shared a list of chemicals released from the site, including vinyl chloride.

Buttigieg met with East Palestine residents on Thursday, but has faced criticism for waiting to speak out about the accident.