As has been noted here on many occasions, it is highly likely that the American public has little trouble thinning the ranks of the federal government in complex regulatory bodies such as the IRS, the FDA, or EPA – no matter how shortsighted or how much benefit may be derived in the long run. To the extent that those cuts slosh over into areas such as NOAA and weather forecasting, or even the NIH and scientific research, DOGE is lucky that all impacts would take significant time to appreciate. But there are institutions that are near sacred, anything having to do with veterans, perhaps Medicaid, with which the administration plays with fire by cutting anything – any such list must include the venerable United States Postal Services, meant to be above profit, intended to serve every locale such that the public has come to count on it like gravity. But the massive infrastructure and the possibility of profits have always made the USPS a privatization target and it appears that DOGE may be on the case. Now House Democrats want to force the Republican Oversight Committee to take the side of mail recipients in rural red states against centi-billionaire Elon Musk and DOGE. It is a near no-win for Republicans.
According to reports, Trump administration Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has signed an agreement with DOGE and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) under the auspices that DOGE would work with the USPS to address “big problems.” Many in Congres and the public are skeptical, as brought to us in a report in Rawstory. There is fear that the deal sets the stage for privatization on highly favorable terms to some random – or directed – business interest:
The letter demanding a public hearing, which was addressed to House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), was spearheaded by Oversight Committee Ranking Member Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), and Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.)
“This backroom agreement between the billionaire-led DOGE and Postmaster DeJoy sets off alarm bells about this administration’s plans for the Postal Service’s role as a cornerstone public institution,” according to the letter. “The Postal Service facilitates the delivery of more than 115 billion pieces of mail each year, a significant portion of which is delivered to rural, low-income, and hard-to-reach areas that would not otherwise receive service if not for the universal service obligation, which has received bipartisan support in Congress and is integral to the mission of Postal Service.”
Some government services like the Postal Service are simply not amenable to the free hand of capitalism and, as such, has received government subsidized service since its inception in the Constitution. Privatization necessarily cuts reliable service to rural communities which – almost by definition, lean heavily Republican. One can be certain that the GOP Oversight members know this fact all too well. Tough spot.
On the one hand, no self-respecting redhead in Congress wants to oppose the Trump administration on anything. But it’s equally true that Kentucky’s Comer doesn’t want to go back to Appalachia and explain how it is that he did nothing as the USPS was fundamentally altered against rural interests. Profits come from deliveries of a half-mile in Manhattan or Atlanta, not to areas fifty miles from Lexington, even subsidies to rural areas would be the first things targeted for profits. Additionally, if Musk continues to mow down services at this clip, the pushback – including from some Trump supporters, is inevitable. Congressional Republicans almost must involve themselves at some point and will likely have to pick their spots – what better spot than having the Postal Service’s back against Musk? It is probably there or nowhere. (The VA and Medicaid must somehow withstand what’s coming, or the public will likely go nuts… )
This is surely the genesis of the letter. Unlike almost any other invitation to investigate any aspect of the Trump-DOGE machine, this one might actually get serious consideration. In a nation where everyone is battling for the hearts and minds of the “middle third” – this might be the line in the sand for people who really don’t have time for politics of any type step in. They don’t care about politics but damn sure want someone at the VA to answer the phone and expect the mail to be delivered – and not for $72.50 for a box to rural Kentucky. Look for this to get headlines into the future.
It is tough to envision Comer agreeing to open an investigation into the matter… At least not this week. He is lucky – no one is forcing a decision overnight. But to do any good he has to open it before presented with a fait accompli. He best not tuck that letter to far into the drawer.
Observers keep looking for the first real Republican pushback against DOGE. This may be it as the letter puts serious pressure on one of the House’s most powerful committees. Not a bad move from the Democrats.
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so if donald trump and elon musk are running the entre government, lets disband congreaa and save tons of money! who needs them?
Of course what better way to screw around with our mail in votes during an election than to screw around with our Post Office!!
This may be Trump’s first overt attack on the constitution. It is REQUIRED by the constitution. I would think it would require an amendment before they can privatize it
Well, it’s not like the talk about privatizing the Postal Service hasn’t been around for decades, especially for GOPers. It was the GOP, after all, during Dubya’s second administration that devised the scheme that largely broke the Postal Service by demanding the Postal Service pre-fund the health care costs for its employees for SEVENTY YEARS. This “plan” cost the Postal Service billions of dollars every year (and since the plan’s imposition, more than 70% of the Postal Service’s “losses” came because of that requirement).
Because the GOP knew it would be impossible to simply sell off the Postal Service as it was (because of that Constitutional mandate), they decided to bankrupt the Service and cause all sorts of monkeying around such as imposing periodic hiring freezes and closing small post offices that served relatively few people if there was another office within 10 miles (which had allowed largely rural towns to have their own post offices) and consolidating the distribution and processing system without really looking into how this would affect employees or the public who relied on these services. (Some of this would need to happen but it pretty much ended the idea that first-class mail would come into a processing plant one day and leave the facility that same day. Now, a piece of mail that comes in today might not be initially processed until tomorrow, and if a holiday is on the schedule, it may cause a delay of an extra day or two.)