Trump fires Democratic member of Surface Transportation Board ahead of
huge rail merger decision
[August 29, 2025] By
JOSH FUNK
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the
U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie before the body
considers the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
Board member Robert E. Primus said on LinkedIn that he received an email
from the White House Wednesday night terminating the position he has
held since he was appointed by Trump in his first term. The vacancy
would allow Trump to appoint two additional Republicans to the board
before its decision on the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger though
the Senate would have to confirm them.
Primus was the only board member to oppose Canadian Pacific’s
acquisition of Kansas City Southern railroad when it was approved two
years ago because he was concerned it would hurt competition. He was
named Board chairman last year by former President Joe Biden and led the
board until Trump, after his election, elevated Board member Patrick
Fuchs to Chairman.
This follows Trump’s previous firings of board members at the National
Transportation Safety Board, Federal Reserve, Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which are all
supposed to be independent agencies.
“Robert Primus did not align with the President’s America First agenda,
and was terminated from his position by the White House," White House
spokesman Kush Desai said. "The administration intends to nominate new,
more qualified members to the Surface Transportation Board in short
order.”
Primus said he doesn't think the firing is valid because the White House
didn't offer any cause for it, and he plans to fight. He also rejected
their explanation for the move because he has long tried to encourage
railroads to serve every industry better and help them grow, but he has
already been removed from the STB website.
“I’ve been pro growth across the board in terms of encouraging growth in
the freight rail network, which in turn will grow our national economy.
So if that’s not being in line with America first, then I don’t know
what America he’s saying is first,” Primus said to The Associated Press.
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A maintenance worker walks past the company logo on the side of a
locomotive in the Union Pacific Railroad fueling yard in north
Denver, Oct. 18, 2006. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
 He said the firings at all these
agencies threaten their independence and credibility. Primus said in
his tenure the STB always strove to be impartial and apolitical.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who serves on the Commerce
Committee, said it's clear that “Donald Trump is trying to stack the
deck so the federal government rubberstamps the merger as a huge
favor for Wall Street and wealthy railroad owners.” She said Primus
has been a fair regulator who worked hard to make sure railroads
delivered for their customers and focused on safety.
Every rail worker union and the nonprofit Rail Passengers
Association also quickly condemned the firing.
“The explanation provided for this decision — that his position has
been “eliminated” — is nothing short of outrageous. Appointed bodies
established through federal code are not designed to be erased at
the whim of powerful corporate interests," said the SMART-TD union
that represents concductors. "This action is unprecedented, unlawful
in spirit, and reeks of direct interference from hedge funds and the
nation’s largest rail carriers."
The board is set to consider Union Pacific’s $85 billion acquisition
of Norfolk Southern in the next two years before deciding whether to
approve the nation’s first transcontinental railroad and reduce the
number of major freight railroads in the U.S. to five.
Primus said the biggest problems in the industry are the lack of
growth and poor service after all the deep cuts railroads have made
over the last decade in the interest of efficiency and improving
profitability. He hasn't taken a position on the UP-NS deal, but he
doesn't think mergers will necessarily improve competition.
“We don’t need to merge to increase competition. We need to
understand that we have to grow,” he said.
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