EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Vice President JD Vance will return to East Palestine on Monday to mark the second anniversary of the disastrous train derailment.
Vance will be joined by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin and the congressional delegation representing the district. This will include the two new U.S. senators from Ohio, Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted, who is the former lieutenant governor appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) to replace Vance, who resigned from the Senate in early January to take office as the 50th vice president of the United States.
Vance was early on the scene of the train derailment and the subsequent “controlled burn” of toxic chemicals in February 2023. It was a baptism by fire for the new U.S. senator. He had only been in office for a little over a month as he responded to the catastrophic Norfolk Southern train derailment and controlled burn.
Vance’s visits would often include President Donald Trump, then out of office, to tour the damage and meet with the people in the village who were affected by the trauma and uncertainty of the derailment. His initial visit marked an inflection point for Trump in his quest to seek the Republican nomination ahead of the 2024 presidential primaries.
I followed Vance there several times as he sat with his constituents, trying to find solutions for their concerns.
Vance was an original co-sponsor of the Railway Safety Act, which passed through the Senate’s Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee in May. It was bipartisan at the time, garnering full-throated support from both Trump and then-President Joe Biden.
On the day Trump and Vance visited East Palestine, there were deep concerns about what was in the air and what kind of chemicals were lurking in the pools of mud they were walking in. Nonetheless, folks by the hundreds lined up along Main Street as Trump’s motorcade, filled with state and local law enforcement, sirened its way into town.
Vance told me in an interview one year later, “What happened in East Palestine was something that affected people that I care about. And you had just had to get it done.”
Trump said at the time during the press conference, “You are not forgotten. In too many cases, your goodness and perseverance were met with indifference and betrayal.”
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Vance’s visit shows the same deference to the people in rural areas often forgotten, such as his trip to Damascus last week and Trump’s visit to North Carolina days earlier. Both toured areas that were hit hard by Hurricane Helene.
It took Biden one year to visit the village, and former Vice President Kamala Harris did not.