Trump considers privatising the US Postal Service, a body older than the country: Report

US President-elect Donald Trump has expressed his keen interest in privatizing the US Postal Service (USPS). Trump hinted at the move in recent weeks, highlighting the financial losses incurred by the government body. Three of Trump’s close aides with knowledge of the matter told The Washington Post, that the president-elect is planning to shake up consumer shipping and business supply chains.

If Trump decides to privatize USPS, it would push hundreds of thousands of federal workers out of the government. The source said that the Republican firebrand has discussed his desire to overhaul the body at his Mar-a-Lago estate with Howard Lutnick, his pick for commerce secretary and the co-chair of his presidential transition.

Earlier this month, Trump held a meeting with a group of transition officials and asked for their views on privatizing the agency. The source told The Washington Post that Trump believes USPS should not subsidize the organization.

In 2019, Trump feuded with the nation’s mail carrier when he was in office. At that time, the president-elect forced USPS to hand over key functions — including rate-setting, personnel decisions, labour relations and managing relationships with its largest clients — to the Treasury Department.

A system older than the United States

It is pertinent to note that the postal system in the country is older than the United States. The body was founded in 1775 with Benjamin Franklin as its chief and revitalized with free rural delivery at the start of the 20th century. The body then transformed into a financially self-sustaining agency in 1970 designed to “bind the nation together” through the mail.

Despite financial blows brought by the rise of the internet, the Postal Service continues to remain one of Americans’ most beloved federal agencies, second only to the National Park Service. However, as the Republicans push for federal cost-cutting, USPS has become the prime target of the GOP’s wrath.

The dying industry

According to The Washington Post, in 2024, the Postal Service lost $9.5 billion and is stung by continued declines in mail volume and a slower-than-anticipated parcel shipping business, even as it made major new investments in modernized facilities and equipment. The agency now faces a whopping $80 billion in liabilities.

Despite the figures, cutting off the Postal Service could upend the trillion-dollar e-commerce industry, hitting small businesses and rural consumers whose businesses and budgets make the agency the shipper of choice. Amazon, the Postal Service’s largest customer, uses the agency for “last-mile” delivery. Sometimes USPS is the only carrier that will deliver to far-flung reaches of the country.

Not only this, attempts to privatize one of the most prominent parts of the federal government could spark political backlash in rural areas where Republicans have a stronghold. Federal officials from Alaska, for example, often invite postal executives to the Last Frontier to see how crucial the Postal Service is to the state’s economy, The Washington Post reported.

In the past, Trump has long had a tense relationship with the mail agency. While he was in office, Trump called USPS “a joke”. He went on to refer to the body as Amazon’s “Delivery Boy.” During the pandemic, the former president threatened to withhold emergency assistance from the Postal Service unless it quadrupled package prices.

His then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, authorized a loan for the mail agency only in exchange for access to its confidential contracts with top customers. Hence, it is safe to say that USPS might be the prime target of Trump’s second bid in the Oval Office.