Postal Service signs cost-cutting deal with DOGE

The Hill

19-03-2025

The United States Postal Service said it has signed a deal with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut costs at the agency.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told congressional leaders in a letter that he had signed an agreement with Elon Musk's DOGE to cut jobs and spending at the agency that has long lost money.
DeJoy said the organization has spent the past four years transforming from a 'battered government bureaucracy' that experienced financial losses into a higher quality service, but it is still not achieving its goals.
'Last night I signed an agreement with the General Services Administration and DOGE representatives to assist us in identifying and achieving further efficiencies,' DeJoy said. 'This is an effort aligned with our efforts, as while we have accomplished a great deal, there is much more to be done. We are happy to have others assist us in our worthwhile cause.'
The Postal Service is an independent agency that has remained untouched by DOGE's presence in other departments, until now.
The postmaster general said his agency plans to reduce its workforce by 10,000 workers within the next month through a voluntary early retirement program.
DeJoy said the DOGE team asked about the big problems facing the Postal Service. He cited various issues including miscalculations and mismanagement over its retirement plans that have several billion dollars of 'burdensome' funds, mismanagement of its Workers' Compensation Program, unfunded mandates as a result of legislation that require the service to participate in 'costly activities,' and 'burdensome regulatory requirements' that restrict normal practices.
He noted these services are housed within other departments, including the Office of Personnel Management, the Treasury Department, the Labor Department and Congress.
'I ask that you please engage with the Postal Service, our DOGE representatives, and the Federal agencies that need to adapt to the critically necessary changes involved and to correct for the deficiencies of the past that can and must be corrected,' DeJoy wrote to the members of Congress.
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), the ranking member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, replied to DeJoy's letter criticizing the decision to team up with DOGE.
'The only thing worse for the Postal Service than DeJoy's 'Delivering for America' plan is turning the service over to Elon Musk and DOGE so they can undermine it, privatize it, and then profit off Americans' loss,' Connolly said in a statement. 'This capitulation will have catastrophic consequences for all Americans – especially those in rural and hard to reach areas – who rely on the Postal Service every day to deliver mail, medications, ballots, and more.'
DeJoy's agreement and letter follow his announcement in February that he would be stepping down from his leadership position. He was appointed during President Trump's first term and said he wanted to begin the process of finding a successor.
He said it was important to provide enough notice and time for the Postal Service to bring in a new postmaster general who can carry on the cost-cutting and efficiency work he began.