Rep. Cleaver Joins 159 Lawmakers in Condemning Any Effort by Trump Administration to Privatize USPS
(Washington, D.C.) – This week, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) joined Representative Nikki Budzinski (D-IL) and 158 members of Congress in condemning any effort by the Trump Administration to privatize the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). In a letter to President Trump, the lawmakers expressed strong concern over his proposal to fire the USPS Board of Governors and merge the Postal Service into the Department of Commerce.
“Any attempts to privatize the Postal Service would be a betrayal to the more than 640,000 postal employees who work tirelessly every day to ensure mail is delivered to every corner of the country,” the lawmakers wrote. “It would also hurt American consumers and businesses who rely on the Postal Service daily for mail and package delivery. These changes would be especially devastating for rural Americans, where the potential elimination of the Postal Service’s universal service obligation would result in skyrocketing delivery costs for less populated regions of the country, where reliable service is most needed.”
Over the last several years, Congressman Cleaver has voiced numerous concerns with the USPS about performance issues. In October 2022, Reps. Cleaver and Sam Graves (R-MO) sent a letter to Postmaster General DeJoy expressing concerns about the agency’s failure to fulfill their congressionally mandated duty to provide six-day mail delivery. In December 2022, the Postal Service responded with complaints about low unemployment rates in the Kansas City region and encouraged residents to apply to work on the USPS, without offering a plan for the agency to meet their mandate.
In March 2023, Reps. Cleaver and Graves called on Postmaster General DeJoy to deliver a plan to address mail delivery delays, fulfill the USPS’s legal obligation to deliver mail 6 days per week, and listen to the concerns of Kansas City residents that had been frustrated with the performance of their local USPS branches. Following that letter, the USPS OIG announced they would conduct an audit of delayed mail and delivery operations in the Northland and the Kansas City area. The audit was completed in August of last year.
In January 2024, Cleaver and Graves led a cohort of fellow lawmakers calling on USPS to halt price increases on stamps, following the agency’s record-breaking fourth rate increase in the last eighteen months. The legislators demanded USPS address the failings of the Delivering for America Plan and turn around performance issues of the USPS in order to legitimize a price hike for consumers.
In April 2024, Rep. Cleaver joined bipartisan calls opposing USPS consolidation and operational changes across the country. The bipartisan group of 20 Members of Congress denounced the U.S. Postal Service’s nationwide consolidation and review announcements that could severely diminish mail service reliability for postal networks nationwide.
In September 2024, Cleaver, Graves, Alford, and other legislators called on the USPS to implement the audit recommendations from the OIG’S report on the Kansas City P & DC.
The letter to President Trump is supported by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), American Postal Workers Union (APWU), National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU), National Association of Postal Supervisors (NAPS), and the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA).
“The United States Postal Service employs over 640,000 dedicated men and women, including over 50,000 Mail Handlers, and serves over 166 million American households and businesses. People in urban, rural, and suburban areas rely on the work we do to deliver packages and letters ranging from Social Security checks, necessary medications, government correspondence, packages, and mail from loved ones. Members of Congress need to stand up against any threat to this invaluable institution,” said Paul V. Hogrogian, President of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union.
“Attempts to privatize or absorb the independent Postal Service into another executive branch agency is an assault on a universal, accessible, and affordable national postal system. NAPS applauds congressional action to protect rural mail service, and service to postal-reliant communities and business throughout the United States,” said Chuck Mulidore, Executive Vice President of the National Association of Postal Supervisors.
“On behalf of the 130,000 members of the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, I want to thank Rep. Budzinski and the other members of Congress who cosigned this letter opposing the executive order, or any executive action, that dismisses the USPS Board of Governors and mergers the United States Postal Service with the Department of Commerce. These potential unilateral and unlawful actions are steps to take over the Postal Service and move towards privatization. The letter accurately states that Congress is the only authority to make legislative changes impacting the Postal Service. The Postal Service has bound this nation together for 250 years, and we must continue to let this American institution continue to serve the American people free from political interference as an independent agency,” said Don Maston, President of the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association.
The official letter from lawmakers is available here.
Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.