Trump mulls bringing US Postal Service into Commerce Department

President Donald Trump said his administration is considering merging the U.S. Postal Service into the Department of Commerce, a move that would give the White House more influence over its operations.

“We’re thinking about doing that and it’ll be a form of a merger, but it will remain the Postal Service, and I think it’ll operate a lot better than it has been over the years,” Trump said during a swearing-in ceremony Friday for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. “It’s been just a tremendous loser for this country.”

The Trump administration could also take an approach not involving a merger by “just using some of the very talented people that we have elsewhere so it doesn’t lose so much,” the president said.

The Postal Service lost $9.5 billion during fiscal year 2024, but posted positive results in Q1 2025 with $144 million in net income. The agency has pushed for administrative and legislative reform to ease its financial challenges, such as pension funding changes.

Putting the Postal Service under the Commerce Department’s control could help the president advance efforts to privatize the agency, something he expressed interest in during a December press conference.

“There is talk about that,” Trump said. “It’s an idea that a lot of people have liked for a long time. We’re looking at it.”

Such an action could usher in a flurry of c…