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President-elect Trump said on Monday he would once again consider privatizing the U.S. Postal Service, opening the door bringing back a controversial and failed proposal from his first term.
Trump was vague in his assessment of the idea during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, saying in response to a question that taking USPS outside of government control was “not the worst idea.” He added it was something “we’re looking at.”
“There is a lot of talk about the Postal Service being taken private,” Trump said. “It’s a lot different today, between Amazon and UPS and FedEx and all the things that you didn’t have. But there is talk about that. It’s an idea that a lot of people have liked for a long time.”
The suggestion, which The Washington Post previously reported was under consideration, emerged in Trump’s first term as part of his plan to reorganize the federal government. That followed an executive order Trump issued in 2018 that created a task force to recommend a path to put the cash-strapped agency on firmer financial footing.
The Office of Management and Budget suggested the Postal Service institute those recommendations to get itself into better shape before it is sold off to the private sector. The suggestion was quickly met with bipartisan rebuke in Congress and Trump’s task force declined to make a similar proposal.
“A privatized Postal Service would have a substantially lower cost structure, be able to adapt to changing customer needs and make business decisions free from political interference, and have access to private capital markets to fund operational improvements without burdening taxpayers,” the White House said in its 2018 proposal. “The private operation would be incentivized to innovate and improve services to Americans in every community.”
It suggested a privatized mailing entity would be able to reduce services, raise rates and offer less generous pay and benefits to its employees.
The Constitution first called for the existence of a postal operation and the agency faces a statutory obligation to deliver to every address in the nation six days per week. It is also tasked with covering its own expenses—outside of limited appropriations it receives for providing specific services for the government—something it has failed to do for more than a decade.
Still, there remains bipartisan support for a robust Postal Service. Just in recent weeks, a myriad of lawmakers in both parties blasted Postmaster General Louis DeJoy for his plans to slow down delivery of some mail and reduce service standards. Lawmakers representing states or districts with significant rural populations have been particularly supportive of improving and expanding USPS.
While Trump alluded to private companies like FedEx and UPS, they do not face the same obligation to deliver to all areas that are not profitable as does the Postal Service. They have historically leaned on USPS’ network to boost its offerings and do not currently offer mail delivery, as that is reserved for the government agency.
Given the bipartisan support that a public USPS enjoys, following through with postal privatization remains a tall task and an effort unlikely to succeed. Congress in 2022 approved a major legislative overhaul that relieved tens of billions of dollars of debt from USPS books and has shown ongoing interest in overseeing DeJoy’s reform efforts.
DeJoy earlier this month vowed to “continue down [his] path until someone hauls me out of here.”
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who next year is set to take over the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that oversees USPS, recently told DeJoy he should stop hiring government employees and instead contract out new staff. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., who chairs the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, told DeJoy last week that there could be some major reforms coming in the Trump administration and those may or may not be advantageous to the Postal Service. He added, however, he was on DeJoy’s and USPS’ side.
Both Paul and Comer cited the Postal Service’s ongoing financial losses as the cause for their concern. DeJoy had hoped to get USPS back in the black by 2023, but he has yet to do so and the agency reported $9.5 billion in losses in fiscal 2024. It anticipates the trend will continue in fiscal 2025.
President Biden on Monday nominated Anton Hajjar to serve on the USPS board of governors, joining his three additional pending nominees. Two of those individuals, William Zollars and Gordon Hartogensis, are Republicans. The Senate has precious few days before the end of its session and appears unlikely to commit floor time to approving their nominations. The board, which has largely been supportive of DeJoy’s reform efforts, currently has four members nominated by Biden and two nominated by Trump.
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