The White House is denying President Donald Trump is considering moving the U.S. Postal Service under the control of his administration, marking a potential first step toward privatizing the 250-year-old government agency, despite recent reports.
The president is expected to sign an executive order terminating the independent mail agency’s governing board members and place the agency under the control of the Commerce Department and Secretary Howard Lutnick, the Washington Post reported late Thursday.
The board overseeing USPS held an emergency meeting Thursday, retained a lawyer and laid out steps to sue the White House if Trump were to carry out these plans, the outlet reported.
A White House spokesperson told the outlet this alleged executive order was not in the works. The Independent has reached out to the White House and USPS for comment.
Earlier this week, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy sent a letter to the board indicating his plans to step down, according to the Associated Press. The agency reported a net loss of nearly $10 billion in fiscal year 2024, compared to a net loss of $6.5 billion for the prior year. USPS attributed its $3 billion in additional loss to an uptick non-cash workers’ compensation expenses.
The report also comes two months after Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago press conference in December that privatizing the independent agency is “not the worst idea I’ve ever heard.” He added: “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.”
In his first term, Trump also considered turning the government agency private.
Privatizing the agency could mean substantial changes for how Americans receive crucial pieces of mail, including mail-in ballots, prescriptions, online orders and free Covid-19 test kits.
“The Postal Service is a nonpartisan, Constitutionally authorized, self-sustaining agency that serves the American people. Millions of Americans rely on the Postal Service every day to deliver mail, medications, ballots, and so much more,” Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly said in a statement. “Privatizing the Postal Service is an attack on Americans’ access to critical information, benefits, and life-saving medical care. It is clear that Trump and his cronies value lining their own pockets more than the lives and connection of the American public.”
Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur warned about how privatizing USPS would disrupt the equitable distribution of mail across the country.
“No matter where you live, neither rain nor snow nor sleet nor hail, they will deliver. Any attempt to shutter it would take an act of Congress. Efforts to close or privatize @USPS would cause undue harm,” she wrote in a post on X. “Many rural Americans and seniors especially rely on @USPS delivering to neighborhoods that private companies won’t, and do so at a fair price. We cannot cut off this critical lifeline for our people.”
