The Trump administration’s fixation on perceived efficiency has claimed its latest casualty: the individual responsible for keeping Amtrak’s trains running on schedule. Stephen Gardner, who has been the Chief Executive Officer of Amtrak since 2022, announced his sudden resignation on Wednesday. This move comes after Donald Trump and Elon Musk targeted the train company for potential privatization.

In a statement, Gardner explained, “I am stepping down as CEO to ensure that Amtrak continues to enjoy the full faith and confidence of this administration.” Before taking the helm at Amtrak, Gardner served as the company’s chief operating and commercial officer, beginning in 2009, and later as its president, starting in 2020. With his extensive experience in the industry, Gardner has a strong background as a train enthusiast. Notably, he previously worked as a conductor and operations manager for the Maine Central Railroad and founded a punk band called Chessie, named after the defunct Chesapeake and Ohio Railway.

Despite his credentials, Gardner found himself in a difficult position with the new administration. Trump’s disdain for Amtrak is not new; he previously attempted to cut federal funding for the company in half during his first administration. However, this time around, the situation has taken a more severe turn. Billions of dollars in support for the railway were caught in Trump’s federal funding freeze earlier this year. Furthermore, Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has been pressuring Amtrak to discontinue diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and implement return-to-office orders for employees, threatening to withhold federal support if these demands are not met.

Although Gardner has attempted to comply with the Trump administration’s demands, it seemed inevitable that he and the company would continue to face significant scrutiny. Earlier this month, Elon Musk proposed that Amtrak and the United States Postal Service should be privatized. Musk referred to Amtrak as “kind of embarrassing” and stated at a conference, “If you’re coming from another country, please don’t use our national rail. It can leave you with a very bad impression of America.”

Amtrak has just come off a year with record ridership, facilitated in part by the expansion of available routes. This expansion is part of a plan to serve an additional 40 million people with rail service in the coming years.

Privatizing the company might potentially expand its reach. However, let’s examine how Elon Musk’s Boring Company has fared in its efforts to provide high-speed, mass transit solutions. It appears that the company has spent over seven years constructing just 2.4 miles of a proposed 68-mile network in Las Vegas, with minimal regulatory oversight. This is the company’s most notable achievement, and it does not account for the numerous projects that the Boring Company has delayed or abandoned due to excessive costs. While Amtrak may have its flaws, it appears more competent in comparison.