Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg found himself in a defensive crunch during his Thursday trip to East Palestine, Ohio, repeatedly trying to quell questions about his handling of the crisis.

Buttigieg largely shrugged off the barrage of attacks on his record as petty politics. He also took shots at the deregulation of the rail industry and former President Donald Trump, who visited the community a day earlier and disbursed critical supplies to the struggling community.

OHIO TRAIN DERAILMENT: TULSI GABBARD SAYS BIDEN, BUTTIGIEG DELAY IN RESPONSE PAINTS RESIDENTS AS 'SOME KIND OF ANNOYANCE'

"I'm here for the work and not for the politics," Butiegeg said. "There's no question that there have been enormous amounts of both information and misinformation injected into this situation, none of which is to the benefit of the community when it comes to that misinformation. So I think —sorry, I lost my train of thought."

When asked whether he should resign, Buttigieg again stressed, "I’m not here for politics; I'm here to make sure the community gets what they need."

His visit also featured meetings with local officials, community members, and of the site where the train derailed. He later tweeted about his visit, posting pictures of him listening to locals.

"I’m amazed by the resilience and decency of the people of East Palestine after meeting them here and visiting the wreck site. We will never forget about them, and we will continue our actions to ensure safety and accountability," he wrote.

During the 2020 election cycle, Buttigieg was a rising star, wooing voters with his sharp oratory skills and ascending from a small city mayor to a household name. President Joe Biden even teased that Buttigieg marked the future of the Democratic Party and appointed him to head the Transportation Department to bolster his portfolio.

Republicans such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) demanded Biden fire him for a "gross level of incompetence and apathy" pertaining to the derailment crisis, his handling of the Southwest Airline holiday meltdown, and more.

Buttigieg has defended himself against critics such as Rubio and got into spats with members of Congress as well as a Daily Caller reporter in a high-profile confrontation earlier in the week.

On Feb. 3, a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying dangerous chemicals, such as vinyl chloride, derailed near East Palestine. Officials subsequently conducted a controlled burn to prevent a possible explosion, but a black plume that emerged triggered concerns about toxic chemicals unleashed upon the environment.

Some residents later reported rashes and other health woes. There have also been concerns about water safety.

Thursday's visit was the first for Buttigieg. EPA Administrator Michael Regan has already stopped by the community. Buttigieg insisted that the Biden administration has been tending to the matter from the early days of the debacle.

"We've been here from the first hours of the incident as an administration, and it's why our interests in East Palestine and in keeping our railroads safe doesn't go away," Butiegeg added.

Despite repudiating the political overtones of his trip, Buttigieg took aim at Trump, whose administration he blamed for relaxing federal regulations for the rail industry, including on braking system maintenance that he suggests contributed to the derailment. Trump has rejected that assertion.

“If he had nothing to do with it, and they did it in his administration against his will, maybe he could come out and say that he supports us going in a different direction. We are not afraid to own our own policies when it comes to raising the bar on regulations,” Butiegeg said.

Buttigieg conceded that he should have been more outspoken about the derailment fiasco sooner.

"I felt strongly about this and could have expressed that sooner," he told reporters.

He first tweeted about the situation on Feb. 13. Days later, he drew ire from conservatives when he said, "While this horrible situation has gotten a particularly high amount of attention, there are roughly 1,000 cases a year of a train derailing."

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Allies of Buttigieg have privately vented over how he has been thrown into the lion's den and that the string of recent crises he's weathered could derail his future presidential aspirations.

“Pete Buttigieg has taken a lot of bullets for the president on this,” one senior Democrat told Politico.