Poll: Majority Want Transport Secretary Buttigieg to Resign

A majority of likely voters wants Transportation Secretary diversity hire Pete Buttigieg to resign for how he mishandled the toxic train derailment affecting East Palestine, Ohio, a Rasmussen Reports survey released Monday found.

Buttigieg was slow to respond to train derailment, only opting to visit the area after former President Trump, who delivered truckloads of water and bought first responders and others lunch. Prior to Trump’s visit, Buttigieg said he would visit the area when the “time is right.” Neither Buttigieg nor his spokeswoman explained why it took roughly three weeks to visit the area.

The survey asked, “Should Buttigieg resign as a result of how the Transportation Department handled the recent train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio?”

Most, 51 percent, said he should resign, followed by 36 percent who said he should not and 13 percent who remain unsure.

Most Republicans and independents, 68 percent and 51 percent, respectively, believe he should resign, compared to 35 percent of Democrats who share that view. A plurality of Democrats, 49 percent, do not believe Buttigieg should resign.

Further, the survey found that a plurality, 41 percent, believe Buttigieg is a “worse” Transportation Secretary than most who held the job before him.

The sentiments coincide with the demands made by several House Republicans, including Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), who have called on Buttigieg to resign over his botched response to the train derailment. “Over the last two years, Secretary Buttigieg has gone AWOL during multiple national crises,” Waltz explained, citing the recent commercial flight crises to Buttigieg’s failure to effectively respond to the “environmental, and humanitarian disaster in East Palestine.”