By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that the proposed $85 billion Union Pacific merger with Norfolk Southern “sounds good to me.”

Last week, Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena met with Trump in the Oval Office to discuss the railroad’s planned buyout of Norfolk Southern, as it seeks regulatory approval for the biggest U.S. rail merger in decades.

“Union Pacific is a great railroad,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday.

The July announcement of the merger between two of the four major U.S. rail operators surprised the already highly concentrated market. Such a proposal would have been unthinkable under the Biden administration, which had an aggressive antitrust policy.

Trump’s support could accelerate the lengthy review process, i

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