Nobody expected this.
In a surprising turn of events, Republican Senator Ted Cruz actually agreed with Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar over the recently derailed train transporting toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio.
According to Newsweek, the Norfolk Southern train which was derailed was carrying harmful chemicals including vinyl chloride. When vinyl chloride is burned it released harmful gas such as phosgene and hydrogen chloride. The smoke from this train derailment resulted in smoke engulfing the entire town causing resident to evacuate.
When the incident occurred the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) said that they did not detect any signs of the deadly chemicals in the air.
However, now major concerns are growing about the dangerous effect that this smoke could have on the environment. Risks include contamination of the soil and surface water around the area. Additionally several East Palestine residents have also reported health concerns and animals have suffered chemical exposure as well.
As a result of this major controversy, Democrat Ilhan Omar has urged President Biden’s Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to take “direct action” regarding this major crisis.
Omar wrote, “East Palestine railroad derailment will have a significant negative impact on the health and wellbeing of the residents for decades and there is almost zero national media attention. We need Congressional inquiry and direct action from @PeteButtigieg to address this tragedy.”
Then Republican Ted Cruz did something he never thought he would do and actually agreed with Omar and simply wrote, “Fully agree.”
WATCH:
NEW TOXINS IDENTIFIED—“We basically nuked a town with chemicals so we could get a railroad open,” said Sil Caggiano, a hazardous materials specialist. Rail company Norfolk Southern is paying just $25k to the town, or ~$5 per resident.🧵
HT @therecount
pic.twitter.com/7jVQaIFA1U— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) February 13, 2023