President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members on the normally sleepy regulatory board overseeing freight rail, a move that has the potential to break what could be a 2-2 tie as it weighs the largest railroad merger in U.S. history.
Surface Transportation Board member Robert Primus posted Wednesday night on LinkedIn that he had been notified via email of his immediate termination from the board responsible for approving railroad mergers. But he also claimed that the email did not list a cause for his firing, which he said made the firing “legally invalid.”
“Ironically, this comes at a time when the Board is considering significant pressing matters of critical importance to both our national freight rail network,” Primus wrote. “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.”