Trump and Biden signal an emerging battle over the future of the Postal Service

With just over a month to go before Inauguration Day, President-elect Donald Trump and President Joe Biden both made moves Monday that could impact the future of the U.S. Postal Service.

Trump hinted at a possible move to privatize the Postal Service at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

When asked about the agency, Trump said privatization was “not the worst idea I’ve ever heard,” adding that “we’re thinking about it.”

“It’s being talked about. It’s an idea that a lot of people have liked for a long time,” he said.

Privatizing the Postal Service would affect hundreds of thousands of jobs and risk upending a system that was founded in 1775 and is older than the United States itself.

Although the Postal Service is a government agency with federal employees, it relies primarily on its own commercial activities for funding, such as the sale of postage, products and services.

The Postal Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s comments.

Any attempt to privatize the agency would require approval from its 11-member Board of Governors, led by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, whom Trump appointed during his first term. Members are nominated by the President and must be confirmed by the Senate.

Biden announced on Monday his intention to nominate Anton Hajjar to the Board of Governors – a move that would require quick action by Democrats to confirm him before Republicans take control of the Senate in the first week of January.

Hajjar previously served on the Postal Service’s board of directors. Biden nominated him in 2021, and the Senate confirmed him in a voice vote, suggesting there was little to no opposition. Hajjar served the remainder of his term, which expired last December. If the Senate confirms his renomination, his new term would last seven years.

Hajjar is the former general counsel of the American Postal Workers Union and represents unions and union employees.

Biden’s intention to nominate Hajjar is an attempt to exert control over the hugely popular agency, which has not been profitable since 2006. The Postal Service is second only to the National Park Service in popularity among government agencies, according to a survey conducted this year by the Pew Research Center.

Trump was openly critical of the agency, calling it a “joke” that resulted in “massive monetary losses.” When he was in office during the Covid pandemic, Trump refused to provide aid to the agency and threatened to veto any congressional action that included aid to the agency.

His appointment to DeJoy in 2020 led to the unveiling of a 10-year plan to overhaul the Post Office to address financial difficulties and “modernize the Postal Service.”

Republicans in general have expressed dissatisfaction with the Postal Service, calling it “bloated, mismanaged and unaccountable.” GOP lawmakers grilled DeJoy at a House Oversight Committee hearing this month, saying that people in the U.S. are suffering from poor service and that the Postal Service is “bleeding red ink.”

Democrats have spoken out against privatization, and Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., recently told the Washington Post that privatization is “our big fear.”

Ultimately, the board of governors, including Biden’s pick, Hajjar if confirmed, would decide the agency’s fate and whether the service — which provides “last-mile” service to private companies like Amazon, FedEx and UPS — in…rural Territories – privatized or not.