NPR transportation correspondent: Train regulation dropped by Trump administration would not have prevented East Palestine derailment

Unlike leftists, I get my news from multiple sources with a wide array of viewpoints. This morning, on my way to work, I listened as NPR reported on the toxic East Palestine, Ohio derailment. Host Scott Simon interviewed David Schaper, who is NPR's transporation correspondent.

Most of the mainstream media, taking the lead from Joe Biden's failed Transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, is either directly or indirectly blaming the spill on former President Donald J. Trump. He moved out of the White House 25 months ago, the "It's Trump's fault" meme is getting real tiresome. 

Here's Buttigieg's Tweeted:

We're constrained by law on some areas of rail regulation (like the braking rule withdrawn by the Trump administration in 2018 because of a law passed by Congress in 2015), but we are using the powers we do have to keep people safe.

We’re constrained by law on some areas of rail regulation (like the braking rule withdrawn by the Trump administration in 2018 because of a law passed by Congress in 2015), but we are using the powers we do have to keep people safe. https://t.co/xRyyYpGOwd

— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) February 14, 2023

Wrong!

This morning, Schaper had this to say about that regulation: 

"But even if that rule hadn't been scrapped," Schaper explained, "it would not have covered this train because it didn't have enough cars with hazardous materials. That rule, when it was in place, only applied to trains with 20 or more such cars." 

Okay, perhaps Schaper is wrong? 

Perhaps not. In an honest fact-check, Breitbart illuminates the truth.

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy, a member of the Biden administration, corrected Buttigieg's lie.

"This means even if the rule had gone into effect, this train wouldn't have had ECP brakes,” Homendy corrected, and chair suggested that anyone stating the opposite is "spreading misinformation."

 ECP is an acronym for "electronically controlled pneumatic brakes."