Two weeks after the Norfolk Southern train derailment upended East Palestine, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) filmed a dispatch to the American public from the edge of a creek. Against a backdrop of brown winter forest and gray limestone, Vance used a stick to stir up a plume of oily contamination. “Do not forget these people,” he told the camera.
Freshly elected as the junior senator for Ohio, Vance promoted his video as part of a broader push. In his early tenure, he hoped to help residents—and further himself as a voice for the Appalachian working class—by keeping East Palestine in the public eye. He told the New York Times that the community was like his hometown of Middletown, Ohio: “neglected by the national media and…affected by a lot of dumb policies.” On Fox News, he scolded President Joe Biden to “stop blaming Donald Trump” and “use the powers of the federal government to do the things necessary to help.”
But, despite his efforts, Vance’s warnings seem to have come true. After an intense few months of media maelstrom, the national spotlight has mostly faded—even as East Palestine’s needs remain unmet. Residents continue to await concrete action from their elected officials, including Vance, that would protect their homes and limit risks to their health from lingering pollution.
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