On August 27, 2025 Donald Trump illegally fired, without cause, Surface Transportation Board member Robert Primus (pictured to the left).

This firing broke a 2 Republican/2 Democrat split at the nation's rail regulator. As Bill Stephens at Trains.com observed, this left the board "two members short of full strength just months before it is expected to receive the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger application." And that, "Primus, a Democrat appointed by Trump in 2020, was the lone STB member to vote against the 2023 Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger." 

This is all occurring just as the largest railroad merger in history is about to be considered for approval (or disapproval) by the STB. Now, further signs of partisanship and questions about the Board's independence and legitimacy are emerging. 

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