Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Monday, Aug 11, 2025

Senate GOP populists push Republican colleagues to back railway regulations, arguing 'their voters' are the most affected by disasters

Senate GOP populists push Republican colleagues to back railway regulations, arguing 'their voters' are the most affected by disasters

The train derailment in East Palestine is giving the Senate GOP's handful of self-styled populists an opening to push the party in their direction.
Nearly two months have passed since a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, leading to an ongoing environmental crisis for the town's residents.

So far, Congress has yet to act legislatively to try to prevent a similar disaster. But Norfolk CEO Alan Shaw's second appearance before a Senate committee on Wednesday offered a trio of self-styled populists in the Senate GOP the opportunity to renew their arguments for stronger regulations for the nation's railways.

"Republican leaders have to appreciate that there is some tension between what the railways are doing, and the safety of lot of rural communities that disproportionately vote Republican," Sen. JD Vance of Ohio told Insider at the Capitol on Wednesday.

Vance, along with fellow Republican Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Marco Rubio of Florida, are touting the Railway Safety Act of 2023. The bill that includes new safety protocols for trains carrying hazardous materials, installing detectors alongside railroads to prevent wheel bearing failures, requiring at least two people operate a train, and increasing fines for wrongdoing.

But while Democrats are broadly receptive to the legislation — both President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have endorsed the bill — most Republicans have shown a weariness so far to get behind the legislation.

"Republicans are so often resistant to any kind of regulation, whether it's environmental, consumer or public safety," said Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, one of three Democratic co-sponsors of the bill. "Vance is taking them to task on that."

In a Fox News op-ed published on Wednesday, the populist trio made a rather blunt argument as to why their bill "should be of special interest" to Republicans: those affected by train disasters are likely to be GOP voters.

"America's railroads run through their rural districts and red communities," the trio wrote. "When derailments occur, it is predominantly Republican voters—their voters—who bear the brunt and who rush to put out the fires."

In the age of Trump, Republicans have increasingly sought to portray themselves as the party of the working class, both in cultural and economic terms. In arguing against Biden's student debt cancellation plan, for example, the most potent Republican line of attack has not been that students must accept personal responsibility for their loans, but that those who benefit from the program are those that were able to get a college degree in the first place.

But the East Palestine derailment and the resulting legislative debate are putting that notion to the test, as Republicans continue to resist using the power of the state to enact new safeguards on the railway industry.

Rubio blamed the lack of Republican support on conservatives' "traditional views of government: that over-regulation, or regulation, is always bad."

But he argued that there's still a common-sense role for regulation.

"Every time I get on an airplane, I'm glad that's a regulated airplane," he said.

At a Senate Commerce hearing on Wednesday, ranking member Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said that there may be an "opportunity for real and meaningful bipartisan cooperation" on railway safety, but he has yet to back the senators' bill.

And Cruz spent much of his opening remarks assailing Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for proposing "big government regulatory proposals" to fix the problem.

Vance, speaking in favor of his bill at that same hearing, also invoked the phrase "big government" — but to argue that criticism of his bill as a "big government solution to the railway safety problem" was "outrageous" and "ridiculous."

"Vance can talk their language well," Brown later observed of his freshman Republican counterpart.

For his part, Vance offered an optimistic take on the bill's prospects, particularly in light of the introduction of a similar measure in the House.

"Look, I think if the vote were held today, we'd get 65 votes in the Senate," he told Insider.

"My view is, we got to put this thing on the floor," said Hawley. "Make people vote on it, and let's just see who votes no."
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Qatar Airways Clears Backlog of Passengers Following Missile Threats
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
×