President-elect Donald Trump and President Joe Biden both took actions Monday that may have an impact on the future of the U.S. Postal Service, just over a month before Inauguration Day.
At a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, Trump hinted at a potential privatization of the Postal Service.
In response to a question concerning the agency, Trump stated that we are considering privatization and that it is not the worst proposal he has ever heard.
That is being discussed. According to Trump, many individuals have long supported this idea.
Hundreds of thousands of employment would be impacted by privatizing the Postal Service, which runs the risk of upending a system that predates the United States itself, having been established in 1775.
Even though the USPS is a government organization with federal workers, the majority of its income comes from its own commercial endeavors, such as the sale of stamps, goods, and services.
A request for response on Trump’s comments was not immediately answered by the USPS.
The agency’s 11-member board of governors, which is chaired by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, whom Trump appointed during his first term in office, would have to approve any attempt to privatize the agency. The Senate must confirm members who have been nominated by the president.
The Democrats would need to act quickly to approve Biden’s decision to renominate Anton Hajjar to the Board of Governors before Republicans seize control of the chamber in the first week of January, as Biden indicated on Monday.
Hajjar was a former member of the USPS board. He was approved by the Senate by a voice vote, suggesting little to no opposition, after Biden nominated him in 2021. Hajjar completed the remaining portion of a term that ended in December 2023. Hajjar’s new term would be seven years if the Senate confirms his renomination.
Hajjar used to represent unions and union employees as the general counsel of the American Postal Workers Union.
Biden is attempting to exert control over the well-liked organization, which hasn’t turned a profit since 2006, by appointing Hajjar. This year, a Pew Research Center survey found that the USPS is only second in popularity among federal agencies, after the National Park Service.
Trump has publicly criticized the agency, referring to it as a joke that loses a lot of money. During his first administration, Trump threatened to veto congressional proposals that contained funding for USPS and opposed providing assistance to the service during the Covid epidemic.
Following his nomination of DeJoy in 2020, a 10-year plan to modernize and address financial difficulties at the USPS was unveiled.
Republicans in general have voiced their displeasure with the Postal Service, accusing it of being unaccountable, bloated, and poorly run. During a House Oversight Committee meeting this month, Republican lawmakers questioned DeJoy, claiming that the USPS is leaking red ink and that Americans are receiving subpar service.
Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat from Virginia, recently told The Washington Post that privatization is their biggest fear, demonstrating the opposition of Democrats to the practice.
If confirmed, Biden’s choice of Hajjar among the board of governors will ultimately determine the agency’s future and whether or not the service—which offers last-mile delivery in rural areas to private corporations like UPS, FedEx, and Amazon—is privatized.
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