Neither Snow Nor Rain · Episode 10 of 10 · 21 min
The War on the Mail, and What Comes Next
In February 2025 the president floated folding the Postal Service into the Commerce Department. Then came a DOGE agreement and about 10,000 job cuts, DeJoy's resignation, and a former FedEx board member installed as Postmaster General who refused to privatize. Beneath the politics is a cash problem the agency calls a severe liquidity crisis. The finale lays out four possible futures and closes on Franklin's idea of a national nervous system.
Who's who
- Donald Trump+11 more episodesPresident who floated a Commerce merger and restricted mail ballots by order
- Louis DeJoy+2 more episodesPostmaster General who resigned in March 2025
- Doug TulinoDeputy Postmaster General who served as acting chief in 2025
- David Steiner+2 more episodes76th Postmaster General who rejected privatization and full federal absorption
- Indira TalwaniFederal judge who blocked core provisions of the mail-ballot order
- Emmet SullivanFederal judge who found the ballot plan violated a 2021 agreement
- D. John SauerSolicitor General who sought a Supreme Court stay
- Benjamin Franklin+1 more episodeEarly postal leader whose nervous-system idea frames the series
Timeline
- February 21, 2025Trump says he is considering merging USPS into the Commerce Department
- March 13, 2025DeJoy signs agreement giving DOGE and GSA a role; about 10,000 jobs cut
- May 9, 2025Board selects David Steiner as Postmaster General
- March 31, 2026Executive Order 14399 restricts mail ballots
- June 25, 2026Judge Talwani blocks core provisions in 23 states plus D.C.
- July 27, 2026Solicitor General asks the Supreme Court to set aside the order
Still debated
Critics call the 2025-26 record a war on the mail while the administration calls it efficiency and election integrity. Projections for when the cash runs out range from 2027 to 2034, depending partly on whether deferred pension payments are a plan or a symptom.
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