In one of many sweeping changes to the functioning of the federal government, reports suggest that President Trump plans to take control over yet another independent agency, the U.S. Postal Service. Not content to have his handpicked postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, a holdover from the first Trump presidency, in place, Trump has signaled a desire to fundamentally alter the agency by bringing the service under direct executive branch control within the Commerce Department.
The purported goal of such a takeover is to make it operate with greater efficiency. But any Trump-controlled version will just bring us closer toward post office privatization, or serve as a means by which the administration could control a critical channel of communication among Americans that has largely protected our privacy for centuries.
The Post Office Act helped spread commerce and civic associations that were the lifeblood of the nation in the early 19th century.
This storied system, warts and all, predates the republic. It needs to remain free and independent, and must continue to serve as a lifeline to communities, not just another means through which the president can exert further control over America’s communications and reward his political supporters.