In June 2017, Governor Dayton appointed Arlene Tchourumoff to serve as the director of the Met Council effective July 31. She had been serving as the first Rail Director for the Council on Freight Rail. In October 2017, Tenzin Dolkar, a senior policy advisor to Governor Dayton, was appointed Rail Director.
In April 2019, Governor Walz issued Executive Order 19-19, which rescinded Executive Order 16-06 (through which Governor Dayton had originally established the Governor's Council on Freight Rail). In that same executive order, Governor Walz established a largely similar council to Governor Dayton's, with some changes to the minimum required meetings per year and other slight adjustments to the council's duties.