What a giant train merger has to do with National Guard in Memphis
Last week, the CEO of a rail company met with President Donald Trump to discuss a giant train merger. During that conversation, Trump sought his opinion on National Guard deployment, the president said Friday, Sept. 12.
“And so I said, ‘What do you think? Where should we go next, as a city?’” Trump said during a Friday morning interview on “Fox & Friends.” “He said, ‘Sir, Memphis would be good.’”
Trump did not name Jim Vena, the CEO of Union Pacific, but described the person he spoke to as the head of the company. Union Pacific confirmed Vena, a FedEx board member from 2022 to 2023, met with the president.
In a statement to The Daily Memphian and other media, Union Pacific acknowledged Vena and Trump discussed the company’s proposed merger with Norfolk Southern Corp., another railroad giant. The meeting took place Tuesday, Sept. 9, according to media reports.
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Laura Testino
Laura Testino is an enterprise reporter who writes about how public policy shapes Memphis. She is currently reporting from Frayser about education and housing. Please write her with your suggestions and story tips.
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