Washington Free Beacon
East Palestine was the last thing on Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael Regan’s mind in the weeks following the Feb. 3, 2023, train derailment that flooded the Ohio town with toxic chemicals.
Ten days after the spill, as residents questioned whether it was safe to even touch their water, Regan finalized plans for an African climate change summit on a video call with British actor Idris Elba, according to calendar records obtained by the Functional Government Initiative and shared with the Washington Free Beacon. Just over an hour later, Regan hopped on the phone with MSNBC contributor April Ryan to discuss the upcoming trip and pat himself on the back for accepting Elba’s “challenge” to be more inclusive of African nations. Ryan discussed the call in an exclusive story for The Grio shortly afterward.
As East Palestine grappled with the chemical fallout, Regan was jet-setting across the country advertising electric school buses and touring water treatment plants, his calendar records show. Regan finally visited the devastated Ohio town 13 days after the derailment, amid public outrage at the Biden administration’s perceived disinterest in the unfolding disaster.
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