A leading Democrat is speaking out against President Trump’s idea to overhaul the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), following reports that the president is considering privatizing the agency or merging it with another government department.
On Saturday, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and other members of the House Oversight Committee fired off a letter to Trump urging him to abandon any plans to privatize USPS or reduce its independence. The letter warns that such a move could hurt the service’s reliability and affordability.
“Your reported efforts to dismantle the Postal Service as an independent agency would directly undermine the affordability and reliability of the U.S. postal system,” the Democrats wrote. “We urge you to abandon immediately any plans that would either privatize the Postal Service or undermine its independence.”
The Democrats’ strong push comes after The Washington Post reported that Trump is looking into firing the USPS board and possibly merging the Postal Service with the Department of Commerce.
Connolly emphasized that any such move would require approval from Congress, which he believes would not support it.
Unlike many other government agencies, USPS operates without taxpayer funding. Instead, it relies on revenue from services like stamps and shipping. But it is legally required to deliver mail to every U.S. address, including rural or hard-to-reach areas, something private companies are not obligated to do.
“Congress prescribed a clear and critical mandate for the Postal Service: to deliver efficient, reliable, and universal service to all Americans,” Connolly said. “Your reported plans would put at risk the timely, affordable delivery of life-saving medications, mail-in ballots, important financial documents, and letters from loved ones—especially in rural or less profitable areas.”
Connolly also argued that the proposed changes wouldn’t fix USPS’s financial struggles but could instead lead to higher prices, political interference, and a weakened mail system.
Trump weighed in on the issue Friday, saying he was considering changes but did not offer specifics. While he criticized USPS for losing money, he said any changes would keep the service largely intact.
“We want to have a post office that works well and doesn’t lose massive amounts of money,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “It’s been just a tremendous loser for this country, tremendous amounts of money they’ve lost. And we think we can do something that will be very good and keep it a very similar way.”
The president suggested that changes might involve a “merger” but emphasized that USPS would remain in operation.
The debate comes after Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump appointee, announced earlier this week that he would step down from his role.
