Goodbye to the US Postal Service as we know it? Trump’s USPS changes might affect you

Is the US Postal Service getting privatised? For the first time in more than 50 years President Donald Trump is signalling that he may push for sweeping changes that threaten the independence of the USPS.

The Washington Post reports that Trump is planning to break up the USPS Board of Governors and bring it under government control within the Commerce Department.

The 250-year USPS actually predates the foundation of the United States and it now covers a variety of services, including the distribution of prescription drugs and mail ballots for elections.

As a public service there are certain requirements that are inefficient, but ensure that all Americans receive a basic level of service. For example, the USPS has to deliver to all addresses, including rural addresses that private companies choose not to service. Often, private companies rely on the USPS to handle the final stretch of the journey to isolated homes.

What did Trump say about the USPS changes?

If the USPS was restructured and brought under the umbrella of the Commerce Department it would fall under the purview of recently-confirmed Secretary Howard Lutnick. Speaking at Lutnick’s swearing-in ceremony on Friday, Trump confirmed that he is eyeing reform.

“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 about a potential USPS switch to the Commerce Department. “It’ll remain the Postal Service, and I think it’ll operate a lot better than it has been over the years.”

In the past Trump has voiced support for a privatisation of the USPS, describing it as “not the worst idea I’ve ever heard” last December. During the first Trump administration a task force report stated that the current format is “unsustainable” and pushed for “a private Postal Service with independence from congressional mandates,” essentially allowing it to become a for-profit entity.

“Major changes are needed in how the Postal Service is financed and the level of service Americans should expect from their universal service operator,” the report said. “A private postal operator that delivers mail fewer days per week and to more central locations (not door delivery) would operate at substantially lower costs.”

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