The private sector is delivering on President Trump’s economic agenda.
Markets have calmed since Liberation Day and have now accepted the White House’s re-ordering of global trade. Companies have announced investments of hundreds of billions in domestic manufacturing. President Trump’s energy-friendly policies have brought fuel prices down.
Momentum is building for the America First economic agenda. Now, a transformational merger would create America’s first transcontinental railroad, revamping the domestic supply chain and empowering manufacturers across the country.
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern – two of the largest railroads in the country – have announced plans to merge, linking the two coasts and, along with it, America’s ports and supply chain. The federal government has long supported these ambitions, first beginning with Abraham Lincoln signing the Pacific Railway Act into law in 1862 and helping found Union Pacific.
The Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger will require approval by regulators, most notably the Surface Transportation Board (STB), a five-member panel that is currently split between two Democrats and two Republicans with one vacancy.
The vacancy allows President Trump to cement a legacy by appointing a candidate who will support his vision of unleashing American industry, re-industrializing the heartland, and fulfilling President Lincoln’s vision.
President Trump has consistently advocated for fixing America’s broken infrastructure and securing its supply chain. He’s right – it’s too expensive to move people and goods across the country. Bridges and tunnels are falling apart on our highways. Creating America’s first transcontinental railroad will save shippers time and money lost to an inefficient transportation system and reduce the wear and tear on highway infrastructure.
The transcontinental railroad will also help unleash the new Golden Age that President Trump has promised. The merger will eliminate the hassle caused by interchanges, where railcars are handed off from one railroad to another. Interchanges have long been a major bottleneck for the rail industry, tying up railcars for days and creating shipping delays. The bottlenecks have slowed down the movement of goods and allowed trucking companies, who rely on publicly funded infrastructure, to dominate the freight market.
A connected railroad, by contrast, will let manufacturers move their products around the country more quickly, reduce strain on other infrastructure, and unlock millions in economic efficiencies.
The two railways have promised to preserve their unionized workforces and lower rates for shippers, meaning that workers, consumers, and manufacturers will all win with the deal. The merger boosts our domestic supply chain at a critical juncture, and puts in the infrastructure needed to support President Trump’s plans to restore and revitalize American manufacturing.
It is time for a Golden Age of American prosperity. Let rail play a part.
Aiden Buzzetti is the President of the 1776 Project Foundation. He was previously the Director of Coalitions for the 1776 Project PAC and can be found on X at @AidenBuzzetti.
This piece was originally written for the Daily Caller
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