US Postal Service privatization may be on the table as DeJoy announces intention to step down
Washington DC - The US Postal Service (USPS) faces potential privatization under President Donald Trump's administration after Postmaster General Louis DeJoy indicated he may be stepping down soon.
DeJoy Monday said he had instructed the USPS board to "begin the process of identifying his successor."
This opens the door for a replacement who will be open to the administration's plan to privatize the USPS.
"Louis DeJoy has steadfastly served the nation and the Postal Service over the past five years," board chairwoman Amber McReynolds said, per a press release issued by the USPS.
"Louis is a fighter, and he has fought hard for the women and men of the Postal Service and to ensure that the American people have reliable and affordable service for years to come," she said.
DeJoy's time as Postmaster General was mired by an inability to keep the service's finances in order. According to the Federal News Network, USPS lost $9.5 billion in 2024 and is unlikely to break even this year as well.
Trump has been in an all-out war with the USPS after he claimed that alleged mail-in voting fraud was behind his election loss in 2020. As a result, reports suggest that Trump seems set to reform the service and begin the process of privatizing it.
A January report from the Washington Post revealed that parts of the organization are preparing to go private as they expect Trump to continue his brutal purge of the US civil service.
USPS head Louis DeJoy defends his record at the USPS in resignation letter
DeJoy defended his record in his resignation letter and said that under his leadership the USPS has "ironclad plans to reduce costs by over $4 billion annually, raise revenue by over $5 billion."
"I have worked tirelessly to lead the 640,000 men and women of the Postal Service in accomplishing an extraordinary transformation," DeJoy said in his resignation letter on Monday.
"We have served the American people through an unprecedented pandemic and through a period of high inflation and sensationalized politics."
He pointed to the USPS' success in delivering nearly a billion Covid-19 test kits during the pandemic as a key point of pride, and touted his financial management and cost-cutting.
According to DeJoy, the USPS' business model has been broken for over two decades. This has led to "catastrophic losses, diminished viability of our products, and significant service performance disappointments."
He took aim at the difficulty he faced making changes to the organization and suggested that industry lobbying was at least in part responsible for some USPS failures.
"The simplest and most obvious ideas and solutions receive illogical and irrational scrutiny from those that have no responsibility for ensuring the financial viability of the Postal Service," he said.
"This, combined with industry lobbying, has held the organization back in the past from making the necessary changes."
"It is important to me that we timely and methodically bring forth a new postmaster general who understands our mission and can successfully lead our spirited organization," DeJoy was cited as saying by USPS.
This article was amended after a previous version incorrectly stated that Louis DeJoy had officially resigned as Postmaster General.
Cover photo: AFP/Saul Loeb