White House fires member of railroad-regulating Surface Transportation Board

By Trevor Hunnicutt and David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House said on Thursday it has fired Surface Transportation Board member Robert Primus, as the U.S. rail regulator considers the proposed $85-billion merger of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern.

The ouster is the latest in a series of dismissals by President Donald Trump's administration from independent agencies and commissions.

White House spokesman Kush Desai said Primus did not align with Trump's agenda. "The Administration intends to nominate new, more qualified members to the Surface Transportation Board in short order."

Trump has fired the two Democrats on the Federal Trade Commission, the vice chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, and members of the National Labor Relations Board, Merit Systems Protection Board, and Federal Election Commission, among others. He also forced out of office the U.S. postmaster general and the CEO of Amtrak.

Some of Primus' social media posts suggest sharp disagreement with some Trump administration policies unrelated to the board's work.

Primus said earlier he rejected an email from the White House terminating his position as "legally invalid" and that it "would weaken the Board and adversely affect the freight rail network in a way that may ultimately hurt consumers and the economy."

"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 said in a post on social media.

The White House's statement did not address the proposed merger or legal questions surrounding the termination.

The Surface Transportation Board did not respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and David Shepardson; additional reporting by Harshita Meenaktshi; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Mark Porter, Rod Nickel)

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