In response to Donald Trump looking to gut the US Postal Service, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: 

“As part of Donald Trump’s neverending efforts to put his ultra-rich friends ahead of the needs of the American people, he’s now taking aim at the Postal Service, a ‘beloved’ American institution. At a time of year when countless families – especially in rural America – are relying on the Postal Service more than ever, the last thing anyone is asking for is another out-of-touch Republican plan to gut a lifeline for communities across the country.”

New reporting shows Donald Trump is threatening to shutter another major federal agency, this time looking to sell off the “beloved” US Postal Service and cut rural America off from critical services. 

Washington Post: “President-elect Donald Trump has expressed a keen interest in privatizing the U.S. Postal Service in recent weeks, three people with knowledge of the matter said, a move that could shake up consumer shipping and business supply chains and push hundreds of thousands of federal workers out of the government. […]

“Even through financial challenges wrought by the rise of the internet, the Postal Service has remained one of Americans’ most beloved federal agencies, second only the National Park Service in a 2024 Pew Research Center study. […]

“Attempts to privatize one of the most prominent parts of the federal government could spark a political backlash, especially for Republicans representing rural districts that the agency disproportionately serves. Federal officials from Alaska, for example, often invite postal executives to the Last Frontier to see how crucial the Postal Service is to the state’s economy.”

Pew Research: “Many federal agencies are viewed positively overall […]

“Topping the list are the National Park Service (76% favorable), the U.S. Postal Service (72%) and NASA (67%).”

The Cincinnati Enquirer: “Mail carriers are a lifeline for rural Ohioans: ‘It’s life or death. That’s it’”

“Privatizing the Postal Service, Miller said, would spell trouble for rural Americans.

“Mail carriers in many ways are a lifeline for rural residents.”

The Postal Service is “foundational” to our economy, health care, and national security, and Trump’s proposed cuts could leave countless Americans stranded without access to vital resources.  

Washington Post: “Cuts to the Postal Service could upend the trillion-dollar e-commerce industry, hitting small businesses and rural consumers whose businesses and budgets make the agency the shipper of choice. Amazon, the Postal Service’s largest customer, uses the agency for ‘last-mile’ delivery between its hulking product fulfillment centers and consumers’ homes and businesses. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.) And the agency’s ‘universal service obligation’ — which requires it to deliver mail or parcels regardless of distance or profitability concerns — means it is often the only carrier that will deliver to far-flung reaches of the country.”

Economic Policy Institute: “The Postal Service is foundational for our economy and democracy”

“The report details how USPS provides good jobs for workers without bachelor’s degrees—especially for Black workers and military veterans. Postal workers are better compensated than many other workers with similar education, years of experience, and hours worked. However, this advantage is shrinking as the Postal Service increasingly relies on outsourcing and noncareer employees who receive meager benefits.”

Associated Press: “VA fills about 80% of veteran prescriptions by mail. That translates to almost 120 million prescriptions a year, with deliveries arriving daily to about 330,000 veterans across the country.”

Vox: “Accessing medication in rural areas can be a struggle when a town is too small to support a pharmacy. But for those who are disabled or elderly, physically filling prescriptions can be an impossible task — which is why many rely on the Postal Service to deliver their meds.

“More than half the people who get their medicine delivered are over the age of 65, according to a report from the National Community Pharmacists Association — and 54 percent of this group takes more than four different types of medication. If the USPS shuts down, then they will be left without an affordable option to access vital drugs.”

The Cincinnati Enquirer: “Because most major delivery companies won’t deliver to rural areas, postal workers carry their packages for what they call ‘the last mile.’

“[Postal Carrier] Miller’s biggest concern about the Postal Service’s future? Delivering medication.

“Some days, Miller delivers as many as 30 packages of life-saving medication, everything from blood-pressure pills to cholesterol medicine. If mail delivery is reduced, Miller fears what might happen to one of his customers should a prescription runs out.”

Lawfare: “Why the Postal Service Is Critical to National Security” 

“A lack of USPS funding could affect not only mail delivery but also a number of other Postal Service functions as well—including law enforcement and disaster response.” 

Trump has a long record of attacking the Postal Service and the vital work it does, repeatedly trying to gut services and raise costs for Americans during his first term – and now he’s trying to finish the job. 

Just Security: “Apr. 11, 2020: Reporting emerges that the Trump administration blocked USPS aid in the CARES Act, threatening a veto if any bailout was included in the bill. […]

“Apr. 24, 2020: Trump threatens to block USPS access to the $10 billion line of credit approved by the CARES Act, conditioning approval of the loan on the Postal Service raising their package prices.

“‘The Postal Service is a joke,’ President Trump said. ‘The post office should raise the price of a package by approximately four times.’”

Associated Press: “President Donald Trump frankly acknowledged Thursday that he’s starving the U.S. Postal Service of money in order to make it harder to process an expected surge of mail-in ballots, which he worries could cost him the election.”