According to reports, President-elect Donald Trump is weighing whether to privatize the USPS when he takes office. He’s allegedly held discussions about taking the postal service private with a group of transition officials and commerce secretary pick Howard Lutnick, according to The Washington Post. However, Trump will likely face multiple legal hurdles if he decides to move forward with any significant changes to USPS operations.
Trump has no authority to privatize the Postal Service
The USPS has had issues meeting its requirement to be self-financing since the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act was passed in 2006. That act required the Postal Service to fully fund the medical benefits for every potential retiree in advance, which was a major financial burden. The Postal Service Reform Act lifted that requirement in 2022. However, the USPS continues to struggle and has reported a tentative $9.5 billion in losses for 2024.
Trump floated the idea of privatizing the USPS during his first term, which was met with disdain by the public and Congress alike. While the Postal Service is part of the executive branch, it’s an independent agency, and its operations aren’t under the purview of the president. So, Trump could not dissolve it via executive order. He could influence the agency’s future by attempting to starve it of funds or appointing sympathetic members to the board. Still, it would take an act of Congress to actually privatize the Postal Service.
However, the USPS doesn’t have constitutional protections. It’s a common misconception that the Postal Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 7) of the United States Constitution requires Congress to establish a postal system. It reads:
“The Congress shall have Power…To establish Post Offices and post Roads”
The clause grants, but doesn’t require, Congress to create a mail system. There’s also no imperative that one be maintained if it is created. As such, there’s no constitutional barrier to dissolving the USPS.
