Amtrak's board of directors has elected Thomas Carper as Amtrak's new chairman of the board. Carper, who has served in various Illinois state and local government positions, including mayor of the City of Macomb, has been a director on the Amtrak board since March 2008. At the same meeting, former Chairman Donna McLean was named vice chairman, replacing Hunter Biden, who remains as a board member. Biden is the son of Vice President Joe Biden, a frequent rider on Amtrak trains between Delaware and Washington during his Senate tenure.
The five-member board consists of four voting members, two Democrats, Carper and Biden, and two Republicans, McLean and Nancy Naples. Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman is a non-voting member of the board.
As stipulated in The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, the board of directors of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) is expected to expand this year to nine members from its current allotment of seven positions, five of which are currently occupied. The President nominates and the U.S. Senate confirms Amtrak Board members.