Trump Moves to Fire Rail Regulator as Board Weighs Merger

President Donald Trump moved to fire Robert Primus, a Democrat serving on the Surface Transportation Board, setting up another pivotal legal battle over his efforts to reshape independent agencies with major economic implications.

The board is currently weighing a merger between Norfolk Southern Corp. and Union Pacific Corp. that would create a massive single railroad company controlling shipments across the continental United States. Primus opposed a previous merger — eventually approved by the STB — that resulted in the combined Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. railroad.