The head of the beleaguered U.S. Postal Service (USPS), Louis DeJoy, resigned Monday (March 24, 2025) after almost 5 years in the position, leaving as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have floated the concept of privatising mail service.
Mr. DeJoy had stated final month he deliberate to step down however hadn’t set a date. He leaves an company with an unsure future. Mr. Trump has stated he’s contemplating placing USPS below the management of the Commerce Department in an try and cease losses at the $78 billion-a-year company, which has operated as an unbiased entity since 1970. It has struggled at occasions to stability the books with the decline of first-class mail.
Deputy Postmaster General Doug Tulino will tackle the position till the Postal Service Board of Governors names a everlasting alternative for Mr. DeJoy, who grew to become postmaster normal in the summer time of 2020 throughout Mr. Trump’s first time period. He was a Republican donor who owned a logistics enterprise and was the first individual to carry the position in almost twenty years who was not a profession postal worker.
Mr. DeJoy’s tenure was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, surges in mail-in election ballots and efforts to stem losses by price and repair cuts.
“I believe strongly that the organisation is well positioned and capable of carrying forward and fully implementing the many strategies and initiatives that comprise our transformation and modernisation, and I have been working closely with the Deputy Postmaster General to prepare for this transition,” Mr. DeJoy stated in an announcement.
He added that “much work remains that is necessary to sustain our positive trajectory.”
The National Association of Letter Carriers’ president, Brian L. Renfroe, stated in an announcement Monday (March 24, 2025) that the union stands able to work with whomever the board selects as the subsequent postmaster normal.
“The future of the Postal Service is on the line, and choosing someone with innovative ideas and appreciation for our Constitutionally mandated service is essential,” Mr. Renfroe stated.
The Postal Service Board of Governors stated in an announcement Monday (March 24, 2025) night that that they had retained world search agency Egon Zehnder to assist discover the company’s subsequent chief. There’s no established timeline for when the announcement of the subsequent postmaster normal shall be made, the assertion stated.
Earlier this month, Mr. DeJoy stated he deliberate to chop 10,000 staff and billions of {dollars} from the USPS price range and he’d do this working with DOGE, in keeping with a letter despatched to members of Congress.
USPS staff, together with mail carriers, have gathered over the previous week to protest the cuts and the plan they are saying will dismantle the service.
Critics of the plan concern unfavorable results of the cuts shall be felt throughout the nation. Democratic U.S. Rep. Gerald Connolly, of Virginia, has stated in response that turning over the service to DOGE would consequence in it being undermined and privatised.
USPS employs about 6,40,000 staff who ship mail, drugs, election ballots and packages throughout the nation, from inside cities to rural areas and far-flung islands.
The USPS has been largely self-funded since 1970. The bulk of its annual $78.5 billion price range comes from buyer charges, in keeping with the Congressional Research Service. Congress gives a comparatively small annual appropriation — about $50 million in fiscal 12 months 2023 — to subsidise free and reduced-cost mail providers.
Published – March 25, 2025 11:12 am IST
