WASHINGTON — 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

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