Biden will visit East Palestine 'at some point'

President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that he will eventually visit the site of a major train derailment that saw toxic materials leak from the railcars and forced the evacuation of an Ohio town.

"I’ve spoken with every official in Ohio, Democrat and Republican, on a continuing basis, as in Pennsylvania," Biden said, per The Hill. "We will be implementing an awful lot through the legislation here, and I will be out there at some point."

Authorities evacuated the town of East Palestine, Ohio, in early February after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in the area. To prevent an explosion, they subsequently conducted a controlled release of the toxic materials.

Ohio's senators, J.D. Vance, R, and Sherrod Brown, D, have crafted bipartisan legislation to tighten rail safety standards in response to the incident.

The incident directed considerable scrutiny toward the Biden administration, in particular Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, for the seemingly sluggish response to the incident.

Biden, for his part, has faced criticism for not appearing at the site, a concern made all the more prominent after former President Donald Trump visited the town and provided some relief supplies out-of-pocket. Trump, at the time, urged Biden to visit the town.

Despite Biden's Thursday remarks, the administration has thus far not scheduled a presidential visit to East Palestine and the timetable of such a trip remains unclear.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.