United States postmaster general (PMG)
The United States Postmaster General (PMG) serves as the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS), overseeing its operations, including the regulation of postal rates and management of a workforce of over 500,000 employees. Appointed by the Board of Governors of the USPS, the PMG plays a critical role in ensuring efficient postal services across the nation. The position, which carries an annual salary of approximately $300,000, has evolved significantly since its inception, with the first postmaster general, Samuel Osgood, appointed in 1789. The Post Office has transitioned from a cabinet-level department to an independent agency since the 1970s, emphasizing its role as a non-profit organization funded by postage sales.
Currently, Louis DeJoy serves as the PMG, having taken office in June 2020 amidst the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to increased demand for mail services. His tenure has been marked by controversy, particularly concerning allegations of service slowdowns which some critics argue were aimed at affecting mail-in voting during the 2020 presidential election. DeJoy's strategies, part of a broader ten-year plan, have faced scrutiny from lawmakers and the public due to significant mail delivery delays impacting essential communications and services. This ongoing dialogue highlights the PMG's vital role in navigating the complex intersection of public service, political dynamics, and community needs.
United States postmaster general (PMG)
The United States Postmaster General (PMG) is the chief executive of the US Postal Service (USPS). The postmaster general is responsible for overseeing the operation of the Postal Service. This includes many duties, such as regulating postal rates and serving as a liaison between the public and government on issues concerning the Postal Service. The postmaster general is also ultimately responsible for the more than five hundred thousand postal employees.
The postmaster general is appointed by the Board of Governors of the Postal Service. The members of this board are appointed by the President of the United States with the advice of the US Senate. A postmaster general can only be dismissed by the Board of Governors and not the president. In 2024, the postmaster general had an annual salary of approximately $300,000.
On June 15, 2020, Louis DeJoy, a Republican, began his tenure as the US postmaster general, and it continued into the mid-2020s. DeJoy’s appointment was controversial because he and his wife, Aldona Wos, had invested millions of dollars in USPS competitors in the postal and package delivery services industry, such as United Parcel Service (UPS). DeJoy was accused of deliberately slowing down mail delivery, possibly to interfere in the 2020 presidential election, during which many voters mailed in ballots to avoid being exposed to COVID-19 during the global pandemic.
Brief History
The US Postal Service actually began before the United States became a country. In 1753, Benjamin Franklin became one of two postmasters general for the American colonies. He improved the postal system in many ways, including cutting in half the delivery time between Philadelphia and New York by having the weekly mail wagon travel both day and night.
Franklin was fired by the British in 1774, but he was appointed postmaster general of the United Colonies by the Continental Congress the following year. Franklin left the post of his own accord in 1776. President George Washington appointed Samuel Osgood, a former Massachusetts congressperson, as the first postmaster general of the United States in 1789. The new country had about seventy-five postal offices, which were part of the Post Office Department, as it was called then.
Throughout history, the postmaster general was chosen from within a new president’s campaign staff and was appointed by the president. The postmaster general was also a member of the president’s cabinet and had considerable influence on governmental operations.
This changed in the early 1970s when the Post Office Department became the US Postal Service, and the postmaster general was no longer appointed by the president or a member of the president’s cabinet. Since 1971, the postmaster general has been appointed by the Board of Governors of the US Postal Service. Members of this board are appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the US Senate, although they are not confirmed by the Senate.
The Post Office has since been an independent agency. It is a non-profit organization that pays its expenses through the sale of postage and related products. In 2024, more than 33,000 postal offices were operating in the country. The nation’s largest civilian employer, the Post Office has about five hundred thousand full-time employees. The postmaster general has an annual salary of about $300,000 and is the second-highest paid US government official, behind only the president, who earns about $400,000 per year.
Overview
In May 2024, Louis DeJoy continued his tenure as the seventy-fifth postmaster general of the United States. DeJoy’s tenure as postmaster began on June 15, 2020, during the final year of Donald Trump’s presidency. The sixty-four-year-old had more than thirty-five years of experience managing a logistics company. In the 1980s, DeJoy took over his father’s Long Island trucking business, which had just ten employees. By 2014, he had turned the company into New Breed Logistics, based in North Carolina. He sold the company, which had seven thousand employees, for $615 million. DeJoy had been a major supporter of the Republican Party and donated $1.2 million to President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. DeJoy and his wife had also invested millions of dollars into postal competitors, such as UPS.
The cost-cutting measures DeJoy initially implemented at the Post Office substantially slowed down mail delivery, sparking sharp criticism. DeJoy eliminated employee overtime, removed mail-sorting machines from facilities across the country, and reorganized and replaced key managers. Some speculated that DeJoy’s slowing of service was deliberate and an attempt to thwart absentee voting efforts during the 2020 presidential election and possibly assist the re-election campaign of Donald Trump by preventing voters’ mail-in ballots from arriving on time. Because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, many voters opted to mail in the ballots instead of casting them in person at polling facilities.
When DeJoy was called upon to testify in front of a federal judge in Washington State, the judge concluded that DeJoy’s actions were taken to slow down mail delivery and undermine public confidence in mail-in voting during the presidential election. The judge ordered an immediate stop to DeJoy’s changes. Even with a reversal of his changes, mail delivery slowed significantly, particularly during the 2020 holiday season. Prior to DeJoy’s appointment, the Post Office had been delivering 90 percent of first-class mail on time. This dropped to 71 percent in November and December, with Christmas gifts and cards arriving months after they were mailed.
In April 2021, DeJoy implemented cost-cutting measures intended to help put the Post Office, which had nearly $190 billion in liabilities, back on track. As part of his ten-year plan, given the title "Delivering for America," DeJoy planned to move first-class mail traveling more than 930 miles by truck instead of plane, delaying delivery by two days. The plan also called for increased postage costs and reduced hours at post offices. His plan was met with widespread public and bipartisan disapproval.
While newly elected President Joe Biden was not able to directly fire DeJoy after he took office in early 2021, he nominated three Democrats to the Board of Governors. The Senate panel approved them on April 28. This gave the board a left-leaning majority that had the power to oust DeJoy.
Criticism and scrutiny continued. In 2024, lawmakers spoke out about the negative effects of DeJoy's "Delivering for America" plan during hearings on the oversight of the US Postal Service. Frustrated lawmakers called on DeJoy to address the issues arising from significant delays in mail delivery, stating that this issue affected almost every American and their ability to receive important letters and packages, including paychecks, prescriptions, and absentee ballots.
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