Primus Sworn In as Fourth STB Member

Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
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Robert Primus was sworn in as a new member of the Surface Transportation Board on Jan. 7, with House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) presiding.

He was confirmed by the Senate on Nov. 18, along with Michelle Schultz.

Once Republican Schultz is sworn in, the STB will have its full complement of five members, a number set by the 2015 Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act.

Republican Patrick Fuchs’ first term expires Jan. 17, 2024. Democrat Martin Oberman’s first term expires Dec. 31, 2023. By statute, STB members are limited to two terms. Republican STB Chairman Ann Begeman’s second term expired Dec. 31, 2020, but the statute provides for a holdover year and permits her to remain until Dec. 31, 2021, or until a successor is sworn in, whichever occurs first.

Democrat Primus, whose term expires Dec. 31, 2022, began government service in 1991 with the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.). From 2002 to 2018, he served as Chief of Staff to former Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), and more recently to Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.).

Primus, a New Jersey native, graduated from Virginia’s Hampton University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science in marketing; he earned a certificate from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2007 for participating in the Executive Education Program.

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