By Brendan Scanland
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WZMQ 19 News) — President Donald Trump recently suggested that his administration could be shaking things up at the United States Postal Service (USPS).
USPS has suffered from recent financial challenges and may soon find itself in the crosshairs of the Trump administration. The White House said there are no immediate plans to take over the Postal Service, but President Trump said he is considering a “massive reorganization” of the agency.
For more than 50 years, USPS has served as an independent agency. However, financial concerns are mounting. In the 2024 fiscal year, the agency lost $9.5 billion, $3 billion more than the previous year when it lost $6.5 billion.
“We want to have a post office that works well and doesn’t lose massive amounts of money,” said President Trump, adding that he’s considering a merger of USPS into the U.S. Commerce Department, therefore under the jurisdiction of the executive branch.
“We’re thinking about doing that, and it will be in the form of a merger, but it will remain the Postal Service, and I think it’ll operate a lot better than it has been over the years,” said Trump.
“Department of Commerce, is just that- commerce, a well-structured organization that could easily take the Postal Service back,” said Rep. Jack Bergman (R- MI).
Some Congressional Republicans support the concept, but Democrats say any changes to the agency would be harmful to the 167 million addresses it services.
“I think the proposal is outrageous. And also, to be very clear, it’s illegal,” said Senator Gary Peters (D- MI).
The Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 converted the service into an independent agency run by a board of governors. Senator Peters says that law was enacted for good reason.
“The Postal Service in the past was a partisan organization. There was corruption. Folks were appointed based on their political loyalty as opposed to whether or not they were good employees with the skills that we need,” said Peters.
Trump has also floated the idea of privatizing the Postal Service. Peters says doing so would not only degrade its core mission, but also disproportionally impact rural communities and areas where it is often less profitable for private companies to deliver.
“UPS or FedEx, you have to realize those entities do not deliver to every single address. And that’s because it’s a requirement of law that the Postal Service does that,” said Peters. “Folks in rural communities should be very concerned about some of the proposals that they’re hearing from the Trump administration.”
Many Republicans support President Trump’s “outside the box” thinking to resolve the Postal Service’s financial woes. Democrats, including Peters, say it’s possible for lawmakers to address the financial challenges and reform USPS without sacrificing the core mission of the agency.
