‘Inexplicable and Irresponsible’ — Top Transportation Official Goes After Schumer After String Of Am

A senior Department of Transportation official derided Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Wednesday for his refusal to confirm the nation’s top railroad safety regulator and suggested the partisan obstruction is placing rail passengers at risk.

Ronald Batory, a 40-year railroad industry veteran, was unanimously approved to lead the Federal Railway Administration by the Senate Commerce Committee in August; but Schumer has since blocked his confirmation twice, in an admittedeffort to secure federal funding to revamp a a rail tunnel linking New York and New Jersey.

Deputy Secretary of Transportation Jeff Rosen, who sent a letterx to Schumer on Jan. 31 urging him to confirm Batory, told The Daily Caller News Foundation Schumer’s behavior is unacceptable considering the scourge of recent rail accidents.

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Inexplicable and Irresponsible’ — Top Transportation Official Goes After Schumer After String Of Amtrak Crashes