Postal Service chief hands DOGE a cost-cutting wishlist
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The United States Postal Service is working with DOGE. Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
The United States Postal Service is asking DOGE for help in cutting costs and reforming the agency, according to a letter Postmaster General Louis DeJoy sent to Congress Monday.
Why it matters: DeJoy said he plans to cut 10,000 workers and billions of dollars from the budget.
- DeJoy, who announced in February his intent to step down from the office at an undisclosed date, signed an agreement with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency last week.
The big picture: DeJoy said in the letter that legislation has stopped USPS from making progress under his Delivering for America plan.
- "The fact is that DOGE is the only other game in town that seems oriented toward helping us to achieve our efficiency and cost goals that are reflected in the DFA Plan," he wrote.
Between the lines: President Trump has said that he wants some kind of Commerce Department "merger" to ensure the agency "doesn't lose massive amounts of money."
DeJoy's DOGE wishlist
Zoom in: Here are some of the areas DeJoy is asking DOGE to review.
- Retail leases: DeJoy asked for help reviewing "almost 31,000 retail centers and the future difficulties we will face in their renewal because of ownership consolidation, urban development, and general increases in rental rates when decades long leases expire."
- Counterfeit postage: DeJoy said the service is "combating an estimated one-billion-dollar problem with counterfeit postage" and said it needs "additional innovative solutions" to address the issue.
- Federal laws: DeJoy said unfunded congressional mandates imposed on USPS by legislation are estimated to cost between $6 billion and $11 billion annually.
- Regulations: DeJoy noted "burdensome regulatory requirements" restrict "normal business practice." He estimated the Postal Regulatory Commission "inflicted over $50 billion in damage to the Postal Service by administering defective pricing models."
The other side: Kevin Yoder, executive director of the advocacy group Keep US Posted and a former Republican congressman, told Axios Monday that the Trump administration and DOGE's "first and most important cost-cutting action" should be to fire DeJoy.
- "We need a strong USPS with the employees it requires to successfully deliver for America six days per-week," said Yoder.
- Also Monday, Democratic lawmakers on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform demanded a hearing for more transparency on DOGE's plan for USPS.
Stamp prices expected to increase
What's next: DeJoy said last September that USPS intends to hike the price of stamps five times through 2027.
- "DeJoy is plotting one more gut punch to the Postal Service and Americans who depend on it," Yoder said, noting the postmaster "is aiming for a huge July rate increase as high as 11.6% for some mail products."
Go deeper: Read DeJoy's letter.
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