March 24 (UPI) — Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced his resignation Monday from the U.S. Postal Service amid calls for the struggling 250-year-old independent government agency to be privatized.
“After nearly five years as America’s 75th Postmaster General, and after informing the Governors in February of my intention to retire, I have informed the Postal Service Board of Governors that today will be my last day in this role,” DeJoy, who was appointed during President Donald Trump’s first term, wrote Monday in a statement.
“It is with great pride that I pass the baton to Deputy Postmaster General, Doug Tulino, until the Governors name my permanent successor,” DeJoy added.
DeJoy’s resignation comes as Trump considers overhauling the mail agency, which could include putting Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in charge.
“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 said last month at Lutnick’s swearing-in ceremony. “It’ll remain the Postal Service, and I think it’ll operate a lot better than it has been over the years.”
In 2021, DeJoy told the House Committee on Oversight and Reform that USPS was in a “death spiral” and losing approximately $10 billion a year.
“Fixing a broken organization that had experienced close to $100 billion in losses and was projected to lose another $200 billion, without a bankruptcy proceeding, is a daunting task,” DeJoy told Congress.
“Fixing a heavily legislated and overly-regulated organization as massive, important, cherished, misunderstood and debated as the U.S. Postal Service, with such a broken business model, is even more difficult,” DeJoy added.
Earlier this month, Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency called USPS a prime candidate for privatization as DeJoy confirmed 10,000 USPS jobs would be cut through the agency’s voluntary early retirement program.
On Monday, the American Postal Workers Union responded to DeJoy’s resignation, saying he was “forced out.”
“Make no mistake, the postmaster general was forced out by a White House intent on breaking up and selling off the public U.S. Postal Service,” APWU President Mark Dimondstein said in a statement, emailed to UPI.
“Our union will continue to lead the fight to ensure that the USPS stays in the hands of its rightful owners — the people — and that it continues to provide quality, universal service that the public both relies on and deserves,” Dimondstein continued.
DeJoy, who was appointed postmaster general during the COVID-19 pandemic, touted his agency’s successes in his resignation letter while admitting there was still more work to be done.
“While our management team and the men and women of the Postal Service have established the path toward financial sustainability and high operating performance, much work remains that is necessary to change our positive trajectory,” DeJoy wrote.
“It has been one of the pleasures of my life and a crowning achievement of my career to have been associated with this cherished institution.”
