Louis DeJoy, who led the US Postal Service for five years, stepped down on Monday amid the discussions by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency regarding the possibility of privatising the mail service.
Doug Tulino, the Deputy Postmaster General, will serve as interim leader until the Postal Service Board of Governors selects a permanent successor. DeJoy, who assumed the role in summer 2020 during Trump’s presidency, was unique as a Republican donor and logistics business owner, breaking the tradition of career postal employees in this position, AP news agency reported.
His leadership period coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, increased mail-in voting, and initiatives to reduce losses through operational adjustments.
“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.
He noted that “much work remains that is necessary to sustain our positive trajectory.”
While the USPS is currently four years into a reorganization initiative designed to cut costs and improve efficiency, President Trump expressed his desire for additional reforms.
Trump has considered placing USPS under commerce department oversight to address financial challenges at the $78 billion-a-year organisation, which has faced difficulties maintaining financial stability as first-class mail usage declines.
He proposed plans to transfer oversight of the agency to commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, shifting away from the current governance structure under the board of governors to Cabinet-level supervision.
“Well, we want to have a post office that works well and doesn’t lose massive amounts of money, and we’re thinking about doing that, and it will be a form of a merger,” Trump stated during Lutnick’s swearing-in ceremony on February 21, following DeJoy’s resignation announcement. “It’ll remain the Postal Service, and I think it’ll operate a lot better than it has been over the years.”
