The top of the beleaguered U.S. Postal Service, Louis DeJoy, resigned Monday after practically 5 years within the place, leaving as President Trump and Elon Musk’s Division of Authorities Effectivity have floated the thought of privatizing mail service.

DeJoy had mentioned final month he deliberate to step down however hadn’t set a date. He leaves an company with an unsure future. Mr. Trump has mentioned he’s contemplating placing USPS beneath the management of the Commerce Division in an try and cease losses on the $78 billion-a-year company, which has struggled at occasions to steadiness the books with the decline of first-class mail.

Deputy Postmaster Common Doug Tulino will tackle the position till the Postal Service Board of Governors names a everlasting substitute for DeJoy, who turned postmaster common in the summertime of 2020 throughout Mr. Trump’s first time period. He was a Republican donor who owned a logistics enterprise and was the primary individual to carry the place in practically 20 years who was not a profession postal worker.

DeJoy’s tenure was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, surges in mail-in election ballots and efforts to stem losses via value and repair cuts.

“I imagine strongly that the group is effectively positioned and able to carrying ahead and totally implementing the various methods and initiatives that comprise our transformation and modernization, and I’ve been working intently with the Deputy Postmaster Common to arrange for this transition,” DeJoy mentioned in a press release.

He added that “a lot work stays that’s essential to maintain our constructive trajectory.”

The Nationwide Affiliation of Letter Carriers’ president, Brian L. Renfroe, mentioned in a press release Monday that the union stands able to work with whomever the board selects as the following postmaster common.

“The way forward for the Postal Service is on the road, and selecting somebody with revolutionary concepts and appreciation for our Constitutionally mandated service is crucial,” Renfroe mentioned.

Earlier this month, DeJoy mentioned he deliberate to chop 10,000 staff and billions of {dollars} from the USPS funds and he’d try this working with DOGE, based on a letter despatched to members of Congress.

USPS staff, together with mail carriers, have gathered over the previous week to protest the cuts and the plan they are saying will dismantle the service.

Critics of the plan worry detrimental results of the cuts can be felt throughout the nation. Democratic U.S. Rep. Gerald Connolly, of Virginia, has mentioned in response that turning over the service to DOGE would lead to it being undermined and privatized.

DeJoy had launched in 2021 a 10-year overhaul he has orchestrated — together with increased postal charges, slower commonplace supply and fewer put up places of work — to stem the Postal Service’s monetary hemorrhaging. The USPS focused a flip to revenue in fiscal 2024 however as an alternative reported two consecutive years of accelerating losses.

USPS employs about 640,000 staff who make deliveries from interior cities to rural areas and far-flung islands.

Kate Gibson

contributed to this report.