President Donald Trump on Wednesday fired Surface Transportation Board member Robert E. Primus, breaking a 2-2 partisan split at the rail regulator while leaving it two members short of full strength just months before it is expected to receive the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger application.
Primus, a Democrat and board’s only African-American, was appointed by Trump in 2020, and was the lone STB member to vote against the 2023 Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger.
“This is deeply troubling and legally invalid,” Primus told the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the firing, adding that he intends to continue his work at the board.
Primus’s term runs through December 2027.
Trump has sought greater control over independent agencies, ousting Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the National Transportation Safety Board, and the Federal Reserve. Trump this week said he was removing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, who is also African-American.
By law, STB members serve fixed terms and may be removed by the president only “for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” No one has suggested Primus violated those standards.
“Robert Primus did not align with the President’s America First agenda, and was terminated from his position by the White House,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement. “The Administration intends to nominate new, more qualified members to the Surface Transportation Board in short order.”
One published report identified attorney James E. Wolfe and rail consultant Richard Kloster as possible nominees.
“President Trump’s abrupt removal of Robert Primus from the Surface Transportation Board severely harms the ability of this independent agency to fulfill its Congressionally-mandated requirements and ensure fair competition,” said Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), ranking member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Dina Titus (D-Nev.), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, in a statement. “This decision overrides the expressed direction of Congress for Board Members to serve five-year terms and hampers STB’s ability to hold freight railroads accountable and protect the traveling public.
“The President should stop political tampering and allow Senate-confirmed officials to serve their full terms.”
Primus becomes the first member of the STB, or its predecessor, the Interstate Commerce Commission, to be dismissed. The ICC was created in 1887.
“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,” Primus wrote on LinkedIn.
“As someone who was nominated by President Trump during his first term and unanimously confirmed by a Republican-led Senate, then renominated by President Biden and unanimously confirmed by a Democrat-led Senate, I have 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,” Primus wrote. “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.”
In public appearances, STB Chair Patrick Fuchs, a Republican, has emphasized the cordial, bipartisan atmosphere at the board, which also includes Republican Michelle Schultz and Democrat Karen Hedlund.
The president has yet to nominate a successor to former Chair Martin J. Oberman, a Democrat who retired in 2024. Since Oberman’s departure, the 2-2 split has complicated decision-making. Several proceedings have stalled or been shelved due to deadlocks.
The board’s 3-1 ruling approving Canadian National’s acquisition of the Iowa Northern Railway was issued six months beyond the statutory deadline. Primus voted against the acquisition, saying it would reduce competition.
A proposal to allow private railcar owners to charge railroads for delayed equipment was left open indefinitely after board members said they could not reach a consensus.
And in May the board withdrew its Final Offer Rate Review rule because the evenly divided panel lacked the votes to defend and revise the regulation after a court struck it down. The Final Offer Rate Review process was designed to give shippers a faster, less expensive way to challenge rates they believed were unreasonably high.
“Railroads respect the critical role the STB plays, and value our strong working relationship with its members and staff,” an Association of American Railroads spokesperson said in an email to FreightWaves. “That has been true for more than 30 years and will remain so regardless of the Board’s composition. As always, we will engage in the nomination and confirmation process as the Administration works to fill its vacancies.”
Union Pacific and BNSF had no comment on the firing. CSX and NS did not immediately return requests for comment.
This article was updated August 28 to add statements from the White House, AAR, BNSF, and Union Pacific, and to add James E. Wolfe and Richard Kloster as possible STB nominees.
This article was updated August 28 to add a statement from House Democrats Larsen and Titus.
Subscribe to FreightWaves’ Rail e-newsletter and get the latest insights on rail freight right in your inbox.
Related coverage:
Intermodal drags down rail freight in latest week
CPKC: Railroads should focus on interline partnerships, not mergers
Buffett: Berkshire will not bid for CSX or Norfolk Southern
BNSF and CSX announce new joint domestic and international intermodal service
