
President Trump fired a board member of a transportation regulator that is weighing a merger between Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific, part of the latest shake-up in the federal government.
The administration terminated Robert Primus, a member of the Surface Transportation Board (STB), on Wednesday. Primus, a Democrat, was nominated to serve on the five-member board in 2020 during Trump’s first term and began serving the following year.
“This is deeply troubling and legally invalid. Ironically, this comes at a time when the Board is considering significant pressing matters of critical importance to both our national freight rail network and supply chain that would directly affect large swaths of our manufacturing, agricultural, industrial and energy sectors,” the ousted official said in a late Wednesday post on LinkedIn.
Primus, who was renominated to be on the board during former President Biden’s administration, said he “worked tirelessly to build bipartisan trust and have demonstrated myself to be truly an independent Board member that has consistently rendered fair and impartial decisions.”
“My record during my four and a half years at the Board reflects this and I strongly believe the actions of the White House would weaken the Board and adversely affect the freight rail network in a way that may ultimately hurt consumers and the economy,” the transportation official, whose term was set to end in 2027, wrote.
“With all of this in mind, I plan to continue to discharge my duties as a member of the Board and, if I’m prevented from doing so, I will explore my legal options,” he added.
When reached for comment, White House spokesperson Kush Desai told The Hill that Primus “did not align with the President’s America First agenda and was terminated from his position by the White House.”
“The Administration intends to nominate new, more qualified members to the Surface Transportation Board in short order,” Desai added.
The STB did not respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
Primus’s firing was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern said in July that they will be merging in a deal valued at $85 billion, which would connect 50,000 miles of tracks spanning across 43 states and Washington, D.C.
The STB, an independent regulatory agency, is considering the proposed merger, which has faced blowback from unions, including the Transport Workers Union of America, warning that if the deal goes through, job cuts will ensue.
Prior to serving on the board, which has one other Democratic member, Primus worked for several House Democrats on Capitol Hill.
His firing comes as the administration has ousted members of other agencies in recent weeks, including top employees at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Reserve board of governors, and others.
This story was updated at 4:55 p.m.
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