In one of Congressman Jim Jordan’s first actions after returning from recess, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight is launching a new investigation aimed at Secretary Buttigieg and the Department of Transportation.

In a letter Tuesday,  Mr. Comer and his Republican colleagues on the committee said that a series of “aviation and rail safety failures” indicate what he calls a “disturbing pattern of failures at the Department placing the safety of Americans at risk.”

As a result, the congressman is requesting a briefing from the transportation department, including the department’s internal communications and documents related to its effort to “investigate and remediate” concerns raised by the department’s Office of Inspector General.

The focus on Mr. Buttiegieg and transportation safety comes after Republicans have criticized the former presidential candidate for air travel delays as well as for the timeline of his visit to East Palestine, Ohio, after the disastrous train derailment there in February. Mr. Buttiegieg is viewed as a potential presidential candidate and rival to Vice President Harris in 2028.

According to the committee’s letter, there were 1,730 runway incursions in 2022, the term for when an aircraft, vehicle, or person is at a protected area or on a surface designated for aircraft landing. The letter also details that there were 2,000 rail incidents, referring to any reportable occurrence with a train, reported nationwide in 2022.

“Despite these incidents, the Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST) has more than 86 new unresolved recommendations,” the letter continues. “These safety failures have eroded the public’s confidence in air and rail safety and necessitates thorough investigation.”

The Department of Transportation, citing policy, said it would not be responding to a letter from a member of Congress via the press and would respond to the committee directly. 

The pivot to transportation marks a new line of inquiry for Republicans on the Oversight Committee, which has largely been preoccupied with its investigation into President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, since assuming the majority in January. There’s no sign that the committee is slowing down its probe into the president’s son.

The new focus on Mr. Buttigieg’s performance  also marks a shift for Mr. Comer, who opposed investments in infrastructure in 2021, voting against the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021.

“I voted NO last night on the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that passed Congress in the dark of night,” Mr. Comer said in a statement in 2021. “Any member of Congress who voted yes last night can also take credit for passage of the massive socialist spending bill.”

Since the infrastructure bill passed in 2021, Congress has also moved toward bolstering safety requirements for railroads and rail companies, something that came into sharp focus after the derailment at East Palestine and the ensuing disaster.

In the Senate, this resulted in the bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023, which was passed by the Senate Commerce Committee and has since stalled out on the Senate floor.

“It shouldn’t take a massive railroad disaster for elected officials to put partisanship aside and work together for the people we serve – not corporations like Norfolk Southern,” Senator Brown of Ohio said in a statement. “Rail lobbyists have fought for years to protect their profits at the expense of communities like East Palestine and Steubenville and Sandusky.”

Senator Vance, also of Ohio, who co-sponsored the bill, said, “We owe every American the peace of mind that their community is protected from a catastrophe of this kind.”

“Through this legislation, Congress has a real opportunity to ensure that what happened in East Palestine will never happen again,” Mr. Vance said in a statement. “One day, the TV cameras will leave, and the news cycle will move on, but the needs of those Ohioans will remain.”

The House’s version of the Railway Safety Act has stalled out in committee, being referred to the subcommittee on railroads, pipelines, and hazardous materials in March. The House bill also has bipartisan support, though it’s not clear whether there will be any progress on it this Congress.