The boss of under-fire Amtrak abruptly resigned from his top post at the US passenger railroad with Stephen Gardner stating that he was said stepping down “to ensure that Amtrak continues to enjoy the full faith and confidence of this administration.”
The announcement on Wednesday signaled that the leadership change came down to Amtrak maintaining support from US President Donald Trump.
CEO Gardner’s departure also arrives just weeks after billionaire Elon Musk floated the idea of privatizing Amtrak, as well as the US Postal Service, at a Morgan Stanley tech conference earlier this month.
Musk, who has been at the forefront of the Trump administration’s aggressive push to downsize the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency, reportedly called Amtrak “kind of embarrassing” – while comparing the US carrier to passenger rails seen in other countries, such as bullet trains in China.
When reached for comment on Thursday, the Transportation Department did not provide further details specific to Gardner’s resignation. However, a statement from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy took aim at Amtrak’s Washington D.C. operations – calling on Amtrak’s leadership to “clean up Union Station” and “rid of our nation’s treasures of homelessness and crime.”
Citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported Wednesday that Gardner was asked to step down at the request of Trump, who previously sought to cut Amtrak’s budget in his first term.
When reached Thursday, Amtrak declined to comment on whether Gardner was asked to resign. But in Wednesday’s announcement, the Amtrak board stated that it looked forward to “working with President Trump and Secretary Duffy as we build the world-class passenger rail system this country deserves.”
For the 2024 fiscal year, Amtrak reported an all-time ridership record of 32.8 million customer trips. That’s up 15% from 2023 – and surpasses Amtrak’s previous record of 32.4 million passengers in 2019.
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