WaPo Review of ‘Every Possible Regulatory Change’ Made Under Trump Found NONE Contributed to Ohio Train Derailment
AP Photo/Matt Freed
In the wake of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, former President Donald Trump faced criticism for his efforts to roll back regulations that numerous commentators blamed for the disaster. But a review by Glenn Kessler at The Washington Post of the regulatory changes passed by the Trump administration found that none of them could be shown to have contributed to the Feb. 3 accident.
The Post, frequently attacked by the former president as “fake news,” is certainly no pro-Trump propaganda outlet, lending credibility to Kessler’s analysis, which “examine[d] every possible regulatory change made under Trump that could be related to the accident and assess whether it could have made an impact.”
The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report noted that the Norfolk Southern train crew had been in the process of trying to respond to an alert about an overheating wheel bearing by slowing the train when it left the tracks, derailing 38 cars, 11 of which contained hazardous materials.
“From our analysis, none of the regulatory changes made during the Trump administration at this point can be cited as contributing to the accident,” wrote Kessler.
Among the specific Trump-era regulatory changes the Post reviewed were repealing a pending requirement to switch to electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes, brake safety inspection times, rejecting a two-person crew requirement, changes to rail inspections and other minimum rail safety requirements, safety audits, and changes to regulations regarding ethylene oxide.
In each of these cases, the Post found that the Trump admin’s change was either not relevant or had not been shown to have an effect that could have contributed to the derailment. For example, this specific train did have on board a two-person crew plus an additional trainee, the ethylene oxide regulation change related to plant emissions (not transport), and the investigations so far have not shown any safety or maintenance issue that might have been uncovered by Obama-era regulations that Trump unwound or repealed.
Read the full analysis at the Washington Post.
