But while Trump has described the U.S. Postal Service as a “joke,” a “laughing stock” and a “stupidly run organization,” incapable of administering vote by mail without significant delays or combatting unevidenced voter fraud, other government agencies and bodies regularly entrust classified material to the USPS.
An operating manual provided to the Department of Defense outlines policies regarding the U.S. Postal Service typical of many government agencies that deal in classified information.
While materials classified as TOP SECRET—a designation intended for material that a 1982 Executive Order defined as risking “exceptionally grave damage” to national security (though overclassification is rampant)—isn’t transmitted via standard postal services, both SECRET and CONFIDENTIAL materials are commonly sent by USPS Registered and Express mail.
For agencies that fall under the purview of the National Industrial Security Program, which manages private industry’s access to sensitive materials, all classified documents are packaged in both inner and outer covers prior to mailing, with the inner envelope sealed and “plainly marked” with the assigned classification. There is no indication on the outer envelope that classified information is contained within, and documents are addressed to an organizational title or classified mailing address, rather than any individual’s name.