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Louis DeJoy resigned from his role as U.S. Post Officer on Monday, leaving independent government agencies behind as they seek privatization and scrutiny from the Trump administration.
In a statement released by USPS, Dejoy said that 250 years of service “has brought about beneficial changes to what was drifting and mo’s organization,” but that more work was needed “to maintain our positive trajectory.”
“It was one of the joys of my life and being associated with this precious institution was the best achievement of my career,” he added. A statement from USPS said there was no “established timeline” in the announcement of Dejoy’s alternatives.
Dejoy, appointed Postmaster General when the agency struggled to survive the financial disaster from the Covid-19 pandemic, announced plans to resign in February.
The former businessman and GOP donors led agents through the coronavirus pandemic and two high-turn-out presidential elections that surged in mail-in voting. He tried to modernize the service and announced a 10-year plan in 2021, resulting in ongoing losses.
Some of his plans sparked criticism, with many claiming that his efforts to integrate delivery ultimately slowing them down.
He also said in 2022 that Americans should get used to rising rates that are “unpleasant” and that it will help them get a self-funded agency to improve their financial foundations. Top-class domestic postage stamps for standard size envelopes are now an increase of $0.73 from the $0.55 when Dejoy arrived at its agency.
The USPS is four years after a restructuring initiative designed to reduce costs and improve efficiency, but President Donald Trump said he wants to see more changes. He plans to oversee the oversight to the Howard Lutnick, who is currently being overseen by the Governor’s Committee, rather than the Cabinet Secretary.
“Well, we want to have a post office that works well and doesn’t lose a ton of money. We’re thinking about doing that. It’s going to be a form of merger,” Trump said at the Latnic oath ceremony on February 21, just days after DeJoy said he would resign. “It remains a postal service and I think it will work better over the years.”
This move could be the first step towards privatization. This was called out earlier this month by the tech billionaire and White House adviser Elon Musk.
A few days later, Dejoy told Congress that he had signed an agreement to enable Musk’s government efficiency to work with the postal service. The agency said it will focus on managing USPS retirement assets and improving its workforce compensation program.
He added that around 30,000 employees have been cut from agents since 2021, with plans to cut another 10,000 through a voluntary early retirement program. The agency currently employs approximately 635,000 workers across the United States.
Mark Dimondstein, leader of the American Postal Workers Union, encouraged the USPS to ensure that the next Postal Service General would oppose privatization when it warned that the next Postal Service General “intended to sell the public US Postal Service.”
“I said that before, but I’ll say it again, this attack on the USPS is part of an ongoing coup by the oligarchs against APWU’s key public services and other civil servants,” he added. “Privatized postal services will result in higher postage prices and lower quality of service to the public.”
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Chris Isidore and Gabe Cohen contributed to this report.
