Key Takeaways
• Leadership Transition: Louis DeJoy has officially stepped down as postmaster general, with Deputy Postmaster General Doug Tulino temporarily taking over until a permanent replacement is found.
• Efficiency Agreement: The United States Postal Service (USPS) has signed an agreement with the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency and the General Services Administration to reduce waste, raising concerns among employees about potential job cuts and privatization.
• Employee Protests: USPS employees are protesting against plans to cut jobs and privatize the agency.
Things have been moving quickly for the United States Postal Service (USPS).
Just over a month ago, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced that he would eventually step down from his position. He then recommended that the USPS Board of Governors begin searching for his replacement.
Last night at 10:20 PM Eastern, the USPS released a statement from DeJoy announcing that March 24 was officially his last day as postmaster general. Until the governors finalize the search for the 76th postmaster general, Deputy Postmaster General Doug Tulino will be in charge.
“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 in a statement.
DeJoy elaborated: “I also have no doubt that the entirety of the Postal Service will aggressively shape its future and become more efficient, capable and competitive as it continuously changes and improves to best serve the American public.”
“Efficient” is a key word in that sentence, as the USPS signed an agreement with the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the General Services Administration earlier this month to cut waste from the agency.
While Tulino is the man in charge for the time being, there is still uncertainty over the future of the USPS, as the Trump administration has floated the idea of absorbing it into the Department of Commerce.
In response to working with DOGE and even the idea of bringing the independent USPS under the executive branch, thousands of postal service employees have voiced their concerns.
On March 23, for instance, USPS letter carriers took to Boston Common to protest a reported plan to cut 10,000 jobs and billions of dollars from the agency under DOGE, as well as the potential to privatize the agency, according to WCVB.
Among other things, the protesting letter carriers were concerned about a lack of independent regulatory authority on pricing and service if the USPS were to become privatized or placed under the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce. They pointed to possible issues like rising shipping costs and reduced service to rural Americans where private carriers might not deliver.
One of DeJoy’s final acts as postmaster general was to recommend not raising prices for services in January 2025 – a proposal that was accepted by the governors – and to release new regulatory standards designed to speed up certain First-Class Mail products. However, USPS pros and business leaders have expressed concern about what could occur to those plans and others under Musk and DOGE.
In short, acting Postmaster General Tulino has his work cut out for him, and the USPS Board of Governors, who theoretically would be opposed to the postal service being absorbed into the Commerce Department, have an important decision to make.
