Robert Primus, one of two Democratic board members of an independent federal regulatory agency that's considering a proposed $85 billion merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern railroad companies, has been fired, the White House and Primus said Thursday.

In a post on LinkedIn Aug. 27, Primus wrote that he received an email from the White House "purporting" to fire him from the Surface Transportation Board (STB). The brief email from the White House, reviewed by CBS News, terminated Primus from his position without reason.

"My understanding was the reasoning they gave was that I was not, you know, I was not- somehow was against their America First efforts," Primus told CBS News. "And my answer is, I'm hard-pressed to find that I was. I mean, I've been pro-growth since I go

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