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USPS Lead Admits to Collaborating with DOGE on Mutual Projects
Hey there! Here's an update on the US Postal Service (USPS) situation. The Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, has teamed up with the Department of Government Efficiency and theGeneral Services Administration to revamp the USPS.
In a letter sent to Congress, DeJoy shared that Elon Musk's firm, DOGE, will lend a hand in identifying and implementing greater efficiency measures within the USPS. The primary areas of focus are optimizing the management of USPS retirement assets and the Workers' Compensation Program and addressing legislative mandates and regulatory requirements.
DeJoy penned, "DOGE was kind enough to ask for our major issues they can help tackle. It's no secret that the Postal Service has been operating under a financially unsustainable model, requiring critical changes."
Since 2021, the Postal Service, an autonomous government agency, has already reduced its workforce by approximately 30,000 employees and plans to eliminate another 10,000 staff members within the next 30 days through a voluntary early retirement program. The agency currently employs over 635,000 workers nationwide.
DeJoy, who was appointed Postmaster General by President Donald Trump in 2020 as the Postal Service grappled with financial strife due to the Covid-19 pandemic, announced he will be stepping down from his position as Postmaster General last month. Prior to taking office, he was a businessman and Trump donor.
DeJoy asserted in the letter that the USPS retirement assets and Workers' Compensation Program have been mismanaged, causing financial strain for the organization.
Additionally, DeJoy criticized the Postal Regulatory Commission, stating it's an excess agency that has caused over $50 billion in damage to the Postal Service by implementing flawed pricing models and outdated bureaucratic processes that impede the Postal Service.
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This month, Elon Musk offered his thoughts on the Postal Service and Amtrak, suggesting they should be privatized.
The Postal Service has been implementing the Delivering for America reorganization initiative for the past four years to trim costs and enhance efficiency. However, the plan's effectiveness has been questioned at times due to subpar mail performance.
Legally, the Postal Service is an independent, self-funded agency, and it has been consistently losing money for years, though it reported a profit of $144 million in the final three months of 2024, the first profitable quarter since the April through June period of 2022. The agency posted a net loss of $9.5 billion in the fiscal year ending September 2024, up from a loss of $6.5 billion the previous year.
"Fixing a bankrupt organization that faced almost $100 billion in losses and was projected to lose another $200 billion, without a bankruptcy proceeding, is a Herculean task," DeJoy stated in the letter. "Even more challenging, fixing a highly legislated and overly regulated organization as large and vital as the United States Postal Service, with such a broken business model, is no small feat."
Democrats swiftly criticized DeJoy's decision as DOGE slashes the federal workforce, laying off thousands of federal employees.
Rep. Gerry Connolly, the ranking member on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, retorted, "Handing over the Postal Service to Elon Musk and DOGE will undermine it, privatize it, and then profit off Americans' loss. This surrender will have disastrous consequences for all Americans, particularly those in rural and hard-to-reach areas, who rely on the Postal Service daily for mail delivery, medications, ballots, and more. Dependable mail delivery should not be limited to MAGA supporters and Tesla enthusiasts."
Trump has expressed aspiration to change the USPS, including granting the Secretary of Commerce control over an independent agency for over 50 years. Such a move could represent an initial step towards privatization and may significantly reshape how Americans receive crucial deliveries like online purchases, prescription drugs, checks, and vote-by-mail ballots.
- The postmaster, DeJoy, has requested help from Elon Musk's company, DOGE, to address legislative mandates and regulatory requirements that have been causing financial strain for the US Postal Service (USPS).
- DeJoy has asserted that the USPS retirement assets and Workers' Compensation Program have been mismanaged, contributing to decades of financial losses for the agency.
- Democrats have criticized the partnership between DeJoy and DOGE, arguing that privatizing the Postal Service would have disastrous consequences for rural and hard-to-reach areas, as well as for those who rely on the service for daily essentials like mail delivery, medications, ballots, and more.
