Robert Primus, who was removed from his position on the Surface Transportation Board (STB) on Aug. 27, in a move that Democracy Forward and Justice Legal Strategies, which are representing Primus, say, “undermines the board’s historic independence,” has filed a lawsuit (download below) against POTUS 47 and his administration, asking a federal court to “allow him to do his job on the independent board that oversees the economic regulation of railroads and other interstate land and water transportation.“
Primus has served on the STB since Jan. 7, 2021, and his current term expires on Dec. 31, 2027. Board members are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate and are bipartisan as no more than three of the five members can be from the same party.
“STB is the successor of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), an agency created in 1887 to regulate the railroad monopolies and the federal government’s first independent regulatory agency. Over time, Congress extended the ICC’s role as economic regulator to other modes of interstate land and water transportation including motor carriers, water carriers, brokers, and freight forwarders. In every iteration of the oversight body, Congress protected the Commissioners from presidential removal except in cases of inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. When the STB was created in 1995 to replace the ICC, the same protections carried over. No reason was provided when Primus was dismissed,” said Democracy Forward, a national legal organization that “advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement,” in a release.
“[POTUS 47] continues to target members of independent boards, without cause, in violation of the law. Congress made clear when creating the Surface Transportation Board that the agency should be independent and above politics. The [POTUS 47] administration’s firing of Robert Primus ignores these limits on executive power. Democracy Forward is committed to supporting his efforts to continue his important work as a member of the Surface Transportation Board,” said Democracy Forward President and CEO Skye Perryman.
“I am fighting against this illegal termination not just for my statutory right to serve out my appointed term, but also for the right of every Board Member, present and future, Republican or Democrat, to serve on the Board as an independent and impartial member without the threat of retaliation or removal for discharging their duties free from political or partisan influence. It would be a disservice to our nation’s freight rail network if I did not,” said Primus. “Our country’s supply chain demands that the Board be independent and transparent. Congress mandated it 138 years ago. Failure to do so will negatively affect the network: railroads, shippers, and rail labor alike, disrupting the supply chain and ultimately injecting instability into our nation’s economy. This is dangerous, and wrong, and cannot not be allowed to happen.”
The STB’s structure, mission, and functions, as well as the terms set for members, “demonstrate Congress’s intent to provide the Board with continuity, stability, and insulation from political pressure exerted by the President,” said Democracy Forward in the release. “Because the Board members perform predominantly quasi-judicial and quasi-legislative functions and do not exercise substantial or considerable executive power, today’s filing notes, the restrictions on the President’s authority to remove members without showing proper cause are clearly constitutional.”
The Democracy Forward legal team working on the matter includes Cynthia Liao and Elena Goldstein. Jon Greenbaum is working on behalf of Justice Legal Strategies.
