Top official quits at railroad agency

WASHINGTON — Heath Hall has resigned as a top official with the Federal Railroad Administration, a Department of Transportation official said.

His departure follows a report that Hall was also working as a public relations consultant for the Madison County, Miss., sheriff’s office.

Hall’s firm continued to collect payments from the county between July and December, although Hall — who was appointed to the railroad agency in June — had pledged in a federal ethics form that the company wouldn’t be active while he worked at the department, Politico reported Saturday.

The Transportation Department was unaware of the information being reported regarding outside work Hall took on during his time at the railroad agency, the department said in a statement.

Documents from the agency have variously referred to Hall as “acting administrator,” “deputy administrator,” and sometimes both. In its statement the agency said Hall “was not the acting administrator when he resigned.” Hall has been on leave since early January.

President Donald Trump’s administration in July nominated Ronald Batory, retired president and chief operating officer of Conrail Inc., to serve as the permanent head of the railroad agency. A White House spokesman said last week that Senate Democrats have held up Batory’s confirmation.