Union Pacific cargo train. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
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The Trump Administration went to court this month to address a controversial Biden-era rule mandating a minimum of two crew members on most freight trains. The regulation, issued by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) under President Biden, is a textbook example of how Big Labor and political interference have corrupted what should be a data-driven safety agency.
President Trump is proudly leading one of the most successful deregulatory efforts in modern history. Rejecting this rail-crew rule would reaffirm that legacy by cutting red tape, advancing innovation and protecting an industry vital to America’s economic strength. While the litigation continues, that opportunity still exists.
Let’s be clear: The Biden crew size rule has nothing to do with safety. The Biden administration cited the 2023 East Palestine, Ohio derailment as justification, even though that train already had three crew members onboard—more than the proposed minimum. The FRA itself admitted it couldn’t quantify any safety benefit from the rule. Decades of evidence, including a decline in rail accidents since deregulation in 1980, show that technology and investment—not crew mandates—have driven safety gains. But the rule does serve one purpose: appeasing such labor unions as the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Railroad & Transportation Workers—Transportation Division (SMART-TD), which endorsed Kamala Harris and funneled 99% of its political spending to Democrats and progressive causes.
That’s not a coincidence. Between 2019 and 2022, SMART directed nearly $80 million toward political advocacy, consulting and special interest groups. Among the top recipients were the California Democratic Party, the BlueGreen Alliance and a slew of far-left environmental and social organizations. Less than 1% of SMART’s political funding went to GOP or bipartisan efforts. This is the group now dictating rail policy under the guise of “safety.” It’s joined by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen’s (BLET) union, a Teamsters outfit that backed Kamala Harris for president.
By rejecting this mandate at the agency level, the Trump Administration can deliver a win for rank-and-file rail workers and the broader American economy, while standing up to Big Labor bosses who push political agendas at the expense of jobs, innovation and real safety progress. Former FRA economist Patrick McLaughlin recently warned in a filing at the Department of Transportation (DOT) that excessive rail regulation—such as this rule—chills innovation, imposes steep costs on shippers and harms low-income communities by raising prices. His research, echoed in dozens of formal comments to the DOT, argues that the regulation creates perverse safety outcomes by undermining the financial health of railroads and discouraging the adoption of technologies that reduce risk and increase efficiency.
It’s not just McLaughlin; a broad coalition of experts and organizations urged DOT to eliminate this crew-size rule last month. Their message is consistent: Performance-based regulation works; top-down, politically motivated mandates do not. In fact, insisting on outdated staffing models only pushes more freight to trucks—an outcome that increases congestion, pollution and traffic fatalities.
This destructive, union-backed rule undermines voluntary labor-management agreements that already govern crew sizes in a more flexible and effective manner. The Center for Transportation Advancement points out that rigid staffing mandates override productive negotiations and mimic the failed “full crew” laws of the early 1900s—laws long since repealed because they served union interests, not public safety.
President Trump has always stood with American workers, job creators and the industries that keep our economy moving. By rejecting this heavy-handed mandate, he can once again lead the charge for innovation and real safety, while standing up to entrenched union bosses who put politics over progress and their interests over those of the rank-and-file workers.
This rule isn’t about protecting workers; it’s about protecting a political machine that spends millions of dollars fighting against the very prosperity rail jobs help deliver. President Trump was right to stop it once. Now he has the chance to finish the job by restoring fairness to federal rail policy and keeping government focused on results, not special interests.
It’s time to modernize, cut red tape and let railroads compete, helping make America great again.
