When a Chinese spy balloon traversed the United States, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) posed for a photo pointing a rifle up at the sky.

And when a train derailment last month contaminated the air and water in East Palestine, Ohio, the new Republican senator stuck a stick down in a creek , revealing an unnatural oily sheen.

In both cases, Vance showed a knack for one of a U.S. senators most important duties: appearing to do something.

But on Wednesday, Vance followed through with actual legislation, partnering with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) on a bipartisan bill slapping new safety requirements on the freight rail industry.

Through this legislation, Congress has a real opportunity to ensure that what happened in East Palestine will never happen again, Vance said in a press release accompanying the bill. We owe every American the peace of mind that their community is protected from a catastrophe of this kind.

The former Marine, venture capitalist and memoirist landed in the Senate this year, displacing Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) as the chambers youngest up-and-coming populist Republican.

These new Republicans practice the same white identity politics that their party has used since the civil rights movement, but they have shown more interest in curtailing corporate power than Republicans typically do.