DeJoy announces plan to step down as Postal Service chief

The U.S. Postal Service will soon begin searching for a successor to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy after he informed the agency’s board of governors on Monday that he intends to step down from the post in the near future.

“While there remains much critical work to be done to ensure that the Postal Service can be financially viable as we continue to serve the nation in our essential public service mission, I have decided it is time to start the process of identifying my successor and of preparing the Postal Service for this change. The major initiatives we are currently endeavoring are multi-year programs and it is important to have leadership in place whose tenure will span this future period,” DeJoy said in a statement released Tuesday. “After four and half years leading one of America’s greatest public institutions through dramatic change during unusual times, it is time for me to start thinking about the next phase of my life, while also ensuring that the Postal Service is fully prepared for the future.”

He did not announce a deadline for his departure.

DeJoy was appointed to lead the Postal Service in the spring of 2020 with a mandate to address operational inefficiencies and a financial crisis stemming from years of underinvestment and a regulatory business model that limited innovation. Under his leadership, officials at the Postal Service quickly developed a new management structure and 10-year transformation plan to put the quasipublic agency on a path toward financial sustainability and improved service delivery.

When he took over, the Postal Service had 60 days of remaining cash, had incurred $90 billion in losses over two decades and had more than $20 billion in deferred facilities maintenance. Projections were for the independent agency to lose an additional $200 billion over the next decade.

Initial streamlining efforts were criticized by Democrats on Capitol Hill for potentially slowing mail delivery of ballots during the presidential election, but his disruptive style has produced results and relatively broad support. The modernization effort has improved network efficiency, increased revenues and resulted in a major capital plan for electric delivery vans. The mail organization, for example, has shifted a large amount of mail delivery from air transport to less expensive ground transport. Transportation costs have been reduced by $2 billion and mail processing costs are down $1.5 billion per year, according to the Postal Service. 

During his tenure, the Postal Service has invested more than $18 billion to modernize infrastructure, created new products and adjusted pricing. During the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, the organization had $140 million in net income after years of losses.

One of his biggest achievements was persuading Congress to repeal a crushing requirement that the Postal Service prepay health plans for retirees, something no other federal agency is required to do. The Postal Service was also instrumental in delivering 930 million COVID test kits during the pandemic.

The Postal Service is on track to reduce costs by more than $4 billion annually, raise revenue by more than $5 billion and adjust its operating network to integrate the delivery of all mail and package categories. 

DeJoy suggested the intense workload of conducting a turnaround of a massive organization is a reason for wanting to leave.

“Postmaster General is a demanding role made more difficult by the devastating condition I found the Postal Service in when I arrived and the almost unceasing resistance to change — without offering any viable solutions — from stakeholders motivated by both parochial and political purposes,” DeJoy wrote in his letter to the board of governors. “The simplest and most obvious ideas and solutions receive illogical and irrational scrutiny from those that have no responsibility for ensuring the financial viability of the Postal Service. This, combined with industry lobbying, has held the organization back in the past from making the necessary changes. I have fought against this, and as a result I believe that I can fairly say that my tenure has been one of high expectations and vigorous action.”

Chairwoman Amber McReynolds said the board of governors “greatly appreciate his enduring leadership and his tireless efforts to modernize the Postal Service and reverse decades of neglect.”

DeJoy said he will help with the transition to a new leader.

The Trump administration’s aggressive plan to reduce the size of the federal government could eventually lead to efforts to privatize the U.S. Postal Service, according to some Washington policy watchers.

Click here for more FreightWaves stories by Eric Kulisch.

RECOMMENDED READING:

US Postal Service begins accepting parcels from China again

The post DeJoy announces plan to step down as Postal Service chief appeared first on FreightWaves.