Postmaster General Louis DeJoy stepped down from his role on Monday. Prior to taking office this year, Trump suggested he might seek to privatize USPS entirely—resurrecting a proposal from his first term. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
After DeJoy's departure, postal unions vow to fight any effort to upend USPS
The union officials are optimistic the postal board will choose a leader who believes in a public Postal Service.
Employee groups at the U.S. Postal Service are raising concerns that the departure of the mail agency’s chief executive could signal the Trump administration is hoping to upend its operations or privatize it entirely, promising to fight against any such efforts.
Louis DeJoy stepped down as postmaster general on Monday, just weeks after saying he would end his tenure leading USPS but wait until a successor was chosen. The news followed President Trump suggesting he would consider folding the Postal Service into the Commerce Department, as well as his signing an agreement for the Department of Government Efficiency to help identify cost-saving measures for the agency.
USPS announced on Monday it had contracted with executive headhunting firm Egon Zehnder to lead the search for DeJoy's replacement. By law, the USPS board of governors, which is made up of nine presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed members, has ultimate decision-making authority on postmaster general selection.
The board currently has three Republican members, two Democrats and one independent. President Trump can immediately nominate three additional members to the vacant seats on the nine-member board and a fourth to replace Roman Martinez, who is currently serving in a holdover year.
Amber McReynolds, chairwoman of the board, said Egon Zehnder would help identify a new leader who ensures that USPS innovates and is sustainable for the long term.
“The Postal Service plays an essential role in American life and, as we navigate a critical period of transformation and modernization, the Governors of the Postal Service are committed to ensuring strong and visionary leadership for the organization,” McReynolds said.
At an event in Washington on Tuesday, leaders of the three largest postal unions said the board was looking to hire someone to maintain USPS’ statutorily protected role as a public service.
The board “is looking for someone that would, in a general sense, continue a similar modernization vision that Postmaster General DeJoy had,” said Brian Renfroe, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers.
The union leaders said that while they did not always agree with DeJoy’s vision, they recognized that he had no interest in privatizing the mailing agency.
“You have natural disagreements and arguments and differences, but we were able to resolve some very difficult issues,” said Mark Dimondstein, who leads the American Postal Workers Union.
“We’re not crying wolf"
DeJoy’s sudden decision to leave USPS after initially planning to stay until a replacement was identified came as tension grew between the postmaster general and the Trump administration, according to reports in The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. While DeJoy signed a memorandum of understanding with the Elon Musk-backed DOGE, he limited their role to helping pass long-sought-after legislative changes and better managing its real estate portfolio. DOGE has spearheaded much more aggressive efforts to slash workforces and spending across much of the rest of government.
Dimondstein said the Trump administration's ideas and actions demonstrate the current threat to the Postal Service is significant.
“We’re not crying wolf,” he said. “We don't want to be the frog being boiled slowly in the water and then all of a sudden we’re cooked.”
Prior to taking office this year, Trump suggested he might seek to privatize USPS entirely—resurrecting a proposal from his first term. Trump said last month, however, that the Postal Service would continue to exist even if it was no longer a standalone agency. More recently, Musk said USPS should be privatized.
For now, the union leaders voiced optimism that efforts to privatize USPS or sell off post offices would prove too unpopular to succeed. Renfroe noted such a plan would lead to a “fight like you never imagined,” not just from the labor groups but the American people as well.
He added the unions maintain a good relationship with Doug Tulino, the deputy postmaster general who is now leading the agency in an acting role. Renfore added that Tulino, a veteran of USPS of more than 40 years, believes in a public and independent Postal Service.
Don Maston, president of the National Rural Letter Carriers Association, said he took comfort in knowing the changes Trump has floated would require an act of Congress. The 1970 Postal Reorganization Act codified USPS as an independent agency led by the postal board and the postmaster general and its mandate to deliver mail and packages to every address six days per week was reaffirmed in the 2022 Postal Service Reform Act.
DeJoy helped shepherd the latter measure into law as part of his 10-year plan to stabilize USPS and put it on firmer financial footing. His vision, dubbed Delivering for America, sparked bipartisan pushback for its efforts to raise rates, slow down mail delivery and consolidate facilities, though the board of governors was largely behind the reform initiative.
“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,” said McReynolds, a President Biden appointee. “I commend Postmaster General DeJoy for inspiring the Postal Service with strategic direction, a competitive spirit, and a culture of achievement that comes from the successful implementation of large-scale change.”
DeJoy said there remained much work to realize his vision and he was confident the team he was leaving behind would continue to make USPS "more efficient, capable and competitive."
“I believe strongly that the organization is well positioned and capable of carrying forward and fully implementing the many strategies and initiatives that comprise our transformation and modernization, and I have been working closely with the deputy postmaster general to prepare for this transition,” DeJoy said.