President Donald Trump reportedly fired Surface Transportation Board member Robert Primus on Wednesday.
The board, which regulates railroads, currently is considering the proposed megamerger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Trump nominated Primus, a Democrat, to the board in 2020. He was the only board member to oppose the merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern, which was approved by the STB in 2023.
Newsmax reached out to the White House for comment on Primus’ reported firing, the president’s latest such move affecting independent government agencies.
Trump on Monday moved to relieve Lisa Cook from her position as governor on the Federal Reserve Board. Cook has been accused of mortgage fraud.
The president also has fired Democrat appointees at the Federal Trade Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Primus, though, told the Journal he planned to challenge the firing and would continue his duties as a board member.
“This is deeply troubling and legally invalid,” Primus wrote in an email, adding he would seek legal options if necessary.
The Journal said Primus was informed of Trump’s move in a late-afternoon email from Mary Sprowls, who works in the White House Presidential Personnel Office.
Appointed chairman of the STB last year by former President Joe Biden, Primus was replaced when Trump in January named board member Patrick Fuchs to become chairman.
“On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as a member of the Surface Transportation Board is terminated, effective immediately,” Sprowls wrote, the outlet reported.
Besides Fuchs, Michelle Schultz, a Republican, and Karen Hedlund, a Democrat, are the other current STB members.
Union Pacific last month said it would buy smaller rival Norfolk Southern in an $85 billion deal to create the first U.S. coast-to-coast freight rail operator and reshape the movement of goods from grains to autos across the country.
U.S. railroad customer groups, however, have demanded regulators block or put onerous conditions on the proposed merger the two companies, the Financial Times reported earlier this month.
Seven associations of shippers have expressed concern the planned deal would significantly increase the power of the merged railroad to raise prices or reduce service standards, according to FT.
Reuters contributed to this story.
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