The secretary appeared to be wearing leather dress boots, instead of heavy-duty shoes like work boots, while surveying damage in the city.
BUTTIGIEG DODGES QUESTIONS WHILE HIS PRESS SECRETARY REFUSES TO BE ON CAMERA IN EAST PALESTINE
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg arrives for a news conference Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, near the site of the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
A Department of Transportation spokesperson told FOX News Digital that the shoes were "boots" but had no record of the brand.
"The secretary was wearing boots," the spokesperson said. "We do not have a record of what brand they are."
"I would like to point you instead to the three-pronged plan he put out recently to increase rail safety and accountability, which is probably of more interest to the residents of East Palestine and any community with a rail line running through it right now than the Secretary’s choice of footwear, which is an entirely irrelevant topic," the spokesperson added.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg speaks during a news conference Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, near the site of the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Several Republicans online blasted Buttigieg for wearing "dress shoes" when surveying the toxic chemical spill in Ohio.
"Not shocked at all by Mayor Pete wearing dress shoes to East Palestine," Ohio Senate GOP spokesperson Tom Evans wrote.
During his first trip to East Palestine, Ohio, to survey the site of the catastrophic train derailment, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg ignored reporters’ questions while his press secretary attempted to handle the media.
The press secretary, Kerry Arndt, proceeded to get flustered upon realizing that the journalists were going to record her answers on video, demanding several times for them to turn off the cameras, or she would not answer any of their questions.
The secretary traveled down on Thursday after former President Trump visited the city, bringing bottled water and supplies. (Fox News)
The tense exchange was captured on camera by Turning Point USA's Savannah Hernandez Thursday morning after Buttigieg arrived at the afflicted Ohio town.
In the video, Hernandez first approached the cabinet secretary and former South Bend, Indiana, mayor as he was speaking with locals. She asked, "Mayor Pete, why did it take you an entire two-and-a-half weeks to actually get here to respond to East Palestine? Will you apologize to the residents of this city for the slow response?"
Buttigieg completely ignored Hernandez and walked into a nearby building as his press secretary called out to the reporter, saying, "I’m his press person, I can help you."
The secretary traveled down on Thursday after former President Trump visited the city, bringing bottled water and supplies.
FOX News Digital's Aubrie Spady and Gabriel Hayes contributed reporting.