Think about the Postmaster General of the United States. What comes to mind? Maybe you’re thinking about your local mail carrier or that one package that got stuck in a distribution center for three days. Honestly, most people view the role as a boring, bureaucratic gig involving stamps and zip codes. They’re wrong.
Dead wrong.
The Postmaster General (PMG) manages one of the largest civilian workforces on the planet. It’s a job that predates the Constitution. Benjamin Franklin held it before we were even officially a country. Today, the person in that chair oversees a logistical network that makes Amazon’s head spin. We’re talking about an organization that processes nearly 130 billion pieces of mail annually. That’s not a typo. It’s a massive, complex business-government hybrid that is constantly under fire from politicians, labor unions, and the public.
If you’ve ever wondered why your mail is slower lately or why the Post Office always seems to be "running out of money," the answer usually starts and ends with the Postmaster General of the United States. It is a position of incredible power, yet it’s one of the most misunderstood roles in Washington.
The Evolution of the Postmaster General: From Cabinet to Corporate
The job used to be a political prize. If you helped a President get elected, he’d probably make you Postmaster General. It was the ultimate "patronage" job. Back then, the PMG was a member of the President’s Cabinet and sat right there in the West Wing. It was a big deal. You controlled thousands of jobs across the country, which meant you controlled a lot of votes.
Everything changed in 1970.
The Postal Reorganization Act essentially "fired" the PMG from the Cabinet. The Post Office became the United States Postal Service (USPS), an independent agency of the executive branch. The goal was to make it run more like a business and less like a political piggy bank.
Today, the President doesn't even hire the Postmaster General. The Board of Governors does. It's supposed to be insulated from politics, but as we’ve seen in recent years, especially with the tenure of Louis DeJoy, that isn't always how it plays out in reality. DeJoy, a former logistics executive, took the reins in 2020 and immediately became a household name—not usually for good reasons. He’s the 75th person to hold the title, and his "Delivering for America" plan is currently tearing up the old playbook to try and save the agency from total financial collapse.
Why the Postmaster General of the United States Can’t Just "Fix" Things
You’ll hear people complain, "Why don't they just raise the price of a stamp?" or "Why don't they stop delivering on Saturdays?"
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It’s not that simple.
The PMG has their hands tied by a thing called the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). They can’t just hike prices whenever they want. They also have to follow "Universal Service Obligations." This means the USPS is legally required to deliver to every single address in the United States, no matter how remote.
Think about that.
FedEx or UPS can say, "Hey, it’s too expensive to drive a truck out to that cabin in the middle of the Alaskan tundra." The USPS can't. They have to go. They might use a snowmobile, a boat, or even a mule (yes, they still use mules in the Grand Canyon). This "last mile" delivery is the USPS's greatest strength and its biggest financial burden. The Postmaster General of the United States has to balance that service-to-all mission with a balance sheet that is often dripping in red ink.
And then there’s the debt. For years, the USPS was crushed by a 2006 law requiring them to pre-fund retiree health benefits 75 years into the future. No other company or agency does that. It was a massive financial anchor. While the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 finally ditched that requirement, the PMG is still digging out of a very deep hole.
The Louis DeJoy Era and the Future of Your Mail
Since 2020, the conversation around the Postmaster General has shifted from "the guy who runs the mail" to "the guy in the middle of a political firestorm."
DeJoy's approach has been aggressive. He’s closing some processing centers, opening massive regional hubs, and slowing down the "service standards" for certain types of mail. Basically, he’s betting that people care more about reliability than speed. If you send a letter from New York to California, he thinks you’d rather know it will definitely arrive in five days rather than hoping for three and getting it in six.
Critics say he’s destroying the service. Supporters say he’s the only one with the guts to make the hard choices needed to prevent a total taxpayer bailout.
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What's fascinating is how much the job has moved into technology. The Postmaster General of the United States is now overseeing a massive fleet transition. We’re talking about the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV). You’ve probably seen the mockups—they look like something out of a Pixar movie with huge windshields. The push to make this fleet electric is a multi-billion dollar headache that involves the White House, Congress, and environmental groups all screaming at the PMG at once.
Realities of the Role: It’s More Than Just Logistics
If you want to understand the sheer scale of what the Postmaster General handles, look at the stats.
- Employee Count: Over 600,000 people.
- Real Estate: The USPS manages over 30,000 leased and owned retail buildings.
- Revenue: Usually around $78 billion annually, which sounds great until you see the expenses.
The PMG also has to deal with the "Postal Inspection Service." This is essentially the Post Office’s own private police force. They have guns, they make arrests, and they investigate everything from mail fraud to anthrax threats. The PMG has to ensure this branch is functioning to keep the "sanctity of the mail" intact. If people stop trusting that their mail is private and safe, the whole system collapses.
Misconceptions About the Postmaster General
One of the biggest myths is that the Postmaster General of the United States is funded by your tax dollars.
They aren't.
Since 1971, the USPS has relied almost entirely on the sale of postage, products, and services. When the PMG asks for money from Congress, it's usually for specific emergencies or to cover the costs of things like disabled veteran benefits. For the most part, the PMG is running a business that isn't allowed to act like a business. It’s a weird, frustrating middle ground.
Another misconception is that the PMG wants to kill off paper mail to save money. Actually, they love "junk mail" (the industry calls it Marketing Mail). It’s highly profitable. What they’re worried about is the decline of First-Class Mail—the bills and letters we used to send before email took over. That was the bread and butter of the USPS for 200 years, and it’s vanishing.
Actionable Insights for Navigating the Modern USPS
So, how does any of this affect you, the person just trying to get a birthday card to Grandma? Understanding the direction the Postmaster General is taking the agency can actually help you manage your expectations and your wallet.
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Plan for "Slow" as the New "Normal" The current "Delivering for America" plan explicitly states that some mail will take longer. If you’re mailing something time-sensitive, don't rely on the old two-day window. Give it at least a week for cross-country First-Class mail.
Use Informed Delivery If you haven't signed up for this, you're missing out. It’s a free service that emails you a digital preview of your mail before it arrives. It’s one of the few technological wins the USPS has had in the last decade, and it’s incredibly accurate.
Watch the Stamp Prices The current PMG has signaled that "frequent and predictable" price increases are the strategy for the foreseeable future. If you see a price hike coming, buy "Forever" stamps now. They are one of the few consumer goods that genuinely hedge against inflation.
Consider the Shipping Wars The USPS is trying to compete with Ground Advantage. It’s their newish shipping tier that combines old "First-Class Package" and "Parcel Select." It’s often cheaper than UPS or FedEx for items under 10 pounds, especially if you’re shipping to a residential address.
What’s Next for the Office?
The Postmaster General of the United States isn't a term-limited position. They serve at the pleasure of the Board of Governors. This means a PMG can stay for two years or twenty. As we move deeper into the 2020s, the job will increasingly become about "package wars."
The decline of letters is permanent. The rise of e-commerce is also permanent. The person in this role has to figure out how to turn a system designed for 18th-century letters into a 21st-century package powerhouse without losing the "public service" soul of the agency.
It’s a thankless job. You get blamed for the weather, for the price of paper, and for the fact that a dog in Des Moines bit a carrier. But without a functioning Postmaster General, the literal fabric of American commerce would hit a brick wall.
Next Steps for the Savvy Consumer:
- Audit your shipping: If you run a small business, compare the new USPS Ground Advantage rates against your current private carrier—you might save 15-20% on "last-mile" deliveries.
- Secure your mail: With the increase in mail theft, consider a locking mailbox. The PMG’s office has admitted that "blue box" security is an ongoing struggle despite new electronic locks being installed.
- Engagement: If you disagree with the service changes, don't just complain on social media. The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) holds public comment periods for major changes to service standards. Use them.