Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, LITIGATION NEWS, TRENDS—Another Board member removed by Trump files suit, (Oct 3, 2025)
Organizations Mentioned:Surface Transportation Board
By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.
On August 27, 2025, the President removed Primus from his position as a member of the Surface Transportation Board without cause and before expiration of his term, the suit alleges.
This week, one of the lawsuits filed against the Trump administration was a suit brought by a Surface Transportation Board member, Robert Primus (a first-term Trump appointee), who alleges that his removal at the end of August was an ultra vires action in violation of the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015.
Specifically, he alleges that he is entitled to retain his role because he was appointed and confirmed to a term not scheduled to end under the end of 2027, that he could only be removed under the Act “for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office,” and that the President did not make that showing. Indeed, the termination email did not provide any reason, the suit alleges.
The suit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as a writ of mandamus.
The suit was brought in D.C. federal court; the case is No. 1:25-cv-03521.
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