Kansas Senator places hold on Amtrak board nominees: Analysis

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen.Jerry Moran, (R-Kan.)  has placed a hold on the Amtrak Board of Directors nominees up for consideration by the full Senate, preventing their confirmation until Moran knows exactly all eight board members President Joe Biden intends to nominate.

“The Biden administration has violated the law by failing to nominate a geographically diverse Amtrak Board of Directors,” Moran said in a statement. “It is important that the members who craft and guide Amtrak policies represent all passengers from across the nation. I will place holds on the Senate Floor until the White House complies with the current law and appoints a nominee representative of the diverse geographic regions that Amtrak serves.”

The confirmation of current board chairman Anthony Coscia; Normal, Ill., mayor Chris Koos; and former Undersecretary of Transportation Joel Szabat were advanced last week by the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee once Sen. John Tester (D-Mont.) received assurances that one of the individuals Biden chose from the Northeast Corridor would be withdrawn [see “Three nominees for Amtrak board advance …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 19, 2023].

The Biden administration has yet to publicly disclose which nomination among Northeast Corridor Democrats yet to have hearings would be rescinded (Szabat, a Republican nominee, resides in the Washington, D.C., area) or who the replacement will be.

Koos was first nominated in 2020 by former President Donald Trump along with ex-FRA Administrator Sarah Feinberg. The two nominees, both advanced as Democrats, were thoroughly vetted by the FBI before their confirmation hearings. At the time, Moran expressed satisfaction with Koos but reservations about Feinberg when Koos confirmed unconditional support for the long-distance network but Feinberg did not. The Senate took no action before the 2020 election.

It took Biden more than two years to advance the current slate of nominees, but Moran, Tester, and others expressed dissatisfaction with his choices [see “Senators challenge Northeast Corridor tilt …,” News Wire April 26, 2023]

Who calls the shots?

Appointees are generally suggested and must pass muster with Senate leadership of each party before the vetting process begins. Thus, Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) are the current gatekeepers.

Capitol Hill sources told News Wire earlier this year that staffers had no advance knowledge of Biden’s nominees, although people in the office of Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) were told Koos would be among them.

It is widely assumed Tester will be involved in selecting the new Democrat to be nominated. In a tight re-election bid in Montana, Tester has stressed the importance of the Empire Builder to mobility in his rural state.

On the Republican side, there has been no indication who will be suggested for two still-vacant GOP slots. If the Democratic replacement comes from Montana, both California and the Southeast will need board representation, and it will be up to the Republicans to provide it.

That would include Moran. His “hold” statement added, “During Surface Transportation Reauthorization of 2021, Sen. Moran authored a provision requiring half of the Senate-confirmed Amtrak Board members, ‘shall reside in or near regions of the United States that are geographically distributed outside of the Northeast Corridor.’”

The other concern by many, given the seemingly strictly political nature of current and past board choices: what are the prospective board members’ qualifications in the railroad or hospitality industry? Are they experienced enough to make an independent judgement on the job current management is doing?

Moran’s dissatisfaction with the way Amtrak attempted to truncate the Southwest Chief in 2018, and perhaps policies his constituents are telling him about today, have led to his skepticism. But until a full slate is nominated, it appears the current board — all with long-expired terms — will continue to oversee Amtrak.