David Steiner is the next head of the U.S. Postal Service : NPR

David Steiner will lead the US Postal Service as the next postmaster, as Federal Postal Service faces an uncertain future under the Trump administration.

USPS Board Chair Amber McReynolds announced the board’s appointments during a public meeting session on Friday. She said Steiner is due to start in July.

Former Waste Management CEO Steiner served on the board of FedEx, a top USPS competitor who worked with the Postal Service to deliver “last mile” packages in hard-to-reach rural areas. Air Transport. However, these partnerships Ended in recent years.

Steiner is currently gearing up to the helm of plagued government agencies where millions of people across the United States rely on medication, payments, voting and other mail transmissions and reception.

The appointment of the board comes amid concerns that Trump authorities remain determined to exert more control over the institutions they established as independent decades ago.

President Trump after Howard Lutonic’s oath ceremony in February Proposed It is a “form of merger” between the Department of Commerce and the Post Office, which sparks a series of protests organized by the USPS Employee Union.

I also have a Trump The announced plans To nominate Republican donor Anthony Romangino, former President Joe Biden and one Trump-appointed governor have four postal governors scheduled to leave by December. With the current four vacancy, Trump has the opportunity to control many of his own candidates and the board. (The full committee consists of nine governors, plus the Postmaster General and the Deputy Postmaster General.)

in USPS Release Announcing his position, Steiner said, “I deeply admire the public service and business mission of this incredible institution and I strongly believe in maintaining its role as an independent establishment of the administrative department.”

However, this appointment has already had critics.

According to a Washington Post Report Regarding the board’s plan to appoint FedEx Steiner with Trump’s support, Sen. Jerry Connolly, a top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said “The move is a blatant conflict of interest and an attempt by President Trump to establish loyalty that President Trump believes will benefit the service of the post and the best for Americans.”

Brian Renflow, president of the National Association of Letters, a coalition representing city careers, also opposes Steiner’s appointment.

“His choice is not just a conflict of interest, it’s a positive step towards handing over the American postal system to corporate interests,” Renflow said in a statement. “For many years, private shippers have been waiting for USPS to be withdrawn from parcel delivery. Steiner’s choice is an open invitation to do just that.”

President Don Maston said in a statement to the National Association of Rural Pastors that the union is “ready to work” with Steiner.

“But Steiner is looking closely, especially as most of the postal services are currently sitting on the board of FedEx, one of its non-union competitors,” Maston added. “The interests for the rural community, for the working families, and for the future of our precious public postal services should not be high.”

Congress established USPS, previously a cabinet-level agency, and is independent from the White House. Postal Reorganization Act 1970. The postal service is then run by a politically appointed committee of governors. Federal Law Appointing the General of the Post Office and deleting it.

Louis DeJoy resigned from his top post in March, but USPS continues to implement a 10-year reorganization plan established in 2021. His resignation came shortly after USPS billionaire advisor Elon Musk’s Doge team signed a contract that would allow them to find “more efficiency” at USPS.

Since 1982, agents have not normally received taxes to fund their businesses. Instead, they rely on stamp sales and other service charges. after that I posted a surplus The company recorded a net loss of $3.3 billion in the second quarter of the fiscal year, USPS chief financial officer Luke Grossman said in a public session at the governing committee meeting on Friday. Email services have struggled to balance books for years. Lose $9.5 billion last year.

As president, Trump has been a voice critic of the postal service’s finances since his first administration, and the USPS has also been entangled with unfounded claims of widespread fraud, including mail-in voting.

in December press conferenceTrump said privatizing USPS was “not the worst idea” he’s ever heard. Such a move could further reduce rural communities and facial email services Bipartisan opposition among members of the council.

Editor’s Note: USPS is a financial supporter of NPR.

edit Benjamin Swassy