Outgoing Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told lawmakers he signed an agreement with the Department of Government Efficiency to cut costs at the beleaguered agency.
While DeJoy began the letter explaining how far USPS has come over the last four years, he acknowledged much work remains. To that end, he signed an agreement with DOGE and the General Services Administration to help identify and achieve greater efficiencies.
“We are happy to have others to assist us in our worthwhile cause,” he said in a letter to congressional leaders. “The DOGE team was gracious enough to ask for the big problems they can help us with. Among other initiatives, I provided the following list of items that are in your hands and that have been intractable even though they have needed to be addressed for over a decade.”
DeJoy proceeded to outline issues with mismanagement of its self-funded retirement assets and workers’ compensation program, unfunded mandates imposed on USPS by legislation, and burdensome regulatory requirements, specifically calling out the “unnecessary” Postal Regulatory Commission.
The postmaster general also told congressional leaders about USPS's plan to reduce its workforce by 10,000 employees in the next 30 days through a voluntary early retirement program.
“I ask that you please engage with the Postal Service, our DOGE representatives, and the Federal agencies that need to adapt to the critically necessary changes involved and to correct for the deficiencies of the past that can and must be corrected,” he said.
The letter comes less than a month after DeJoy announced he would be stepping down from his position and asked the Postal Service Board of Governors to find his successor.