Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said in a letter to the Postal Service Board of Governors that it’s time to find his successor.
“While you undertake that process, my commitment is to devote my time and energy and being as helpful as possible in facilitating a transition that is the least impactful to the Postal Service and the American people, and that positions my successor and the Postal Service for long-term success,” he wrote.
DeJoy, who did not say when he would step down, has drawn criticism from both the left and right over his tenure at the agency, which began in June 2020.
In 2021, he unveiled an ambitious 10-year turnaround plan that aims to shift the agency and its 640,000 workers more toward the package business as mail continues its long-term decline. He initially set a target to break even in 2023, but the Postal Service continued to report losses in fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
DeJoy has since repeatedly come under fire in Congress over the progress of the modernization drive, which had resulted in delays for some mail. The Postal Regulatory Commission, the federal agency that oversees the Postal Service, last month criticized his plan as having “overly optimistic and unsubstantiated financial projections for cost savings” and said it could hurt rural communities.
The Postal Service has been hemorrhaging money for years because of declining mail volumes, limits on what it can charge customers and a costly mandate to deliver to 168 million delivery addresses six days a week.
In 2024, the agency reported a net loss of $9.5 billion, which, after adjusting for workers’ compensation and retirement liabilities, resulted in a controllable loss of $1.8 billion. With almost no funding from the federal government, the Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, products and other services to fund its operations. (WSJ)
Despite the criticism he’s received, DeJoy defended his work at the USPS.
"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," he wrote. "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."
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