What’s next for sluggish Minnesota mail after USPS postmaster general’s resignation?
Rep. Angie Craig, again, sounds the alarm
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The future of the U.S. Postal Service is in question.
Louis DeJoy resigned Monday after nearly five years as postmaster general. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency are exploring the privatization of the nation’s mail service or putting USPS under the Commerce Department's control. Postal workers across the country and in Minnesota are protesting the privatization of the independent agency.
USPS lost $9.5 billion last fiscal year, up $3 billion in net losses from 2023. It, too, has been plagued with mail delays and service-level declines.
The USPS Office of the Inspector General reported 79 percent of two-day mail in Minnesota and North Dakota arrived on time in the first quarter of 2025 — 8 points behind the national target.
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Democratic U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, whose 2nd Congressional District stretches from the south Twin Cities metro area to near Mankato, has sounded the alarm over Minnesota mail issues for several years and has surveyed more than 3,000 of her constituents about postal problems.
Craig joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer on Morning Edition Wednesday to talk about the future of USPS following DeJoy’s departure and under the Trump administration.
What did you make of DeJoy deciding to resign?
Well, I think it’s just an admission that he’s not been able to solve the problems within the Postal Service. In fact, he’s made them worse. They’ve been very, very slow in responding to my constituents’ needs over the last several years. And, of course, the entire state of Minnesota was audited as a result of what they found in the second district when I raised these concerns.
So you know, I’m not unhappy to see him go, and I’m going to be watching Deputy Postmaster General Doug Tulino very closely as he takes over his acting postmaster, and I hope he can start to right the ship.
What do you see as the potential impact of privatizing mail for Minnesotans, especially rural Minnesotans?
It would be devastating. I mean, we had a post office in New Prague closed for a period of time, and my constituents had to drive 30-40 miles to go and get their mail. Think about the fact that [if] you privatized the post office to something like UPS or a FedEx, costs go up dramatically. I can assure you they're not going to have convenient locations in rural communities across our country.
And by the way, the USPS is a public service. It was designed to be that way from the U.S. Constitution. So you know, this is something that I've been long concerned about. And frankly, I think it’s the direction that Republicans have been moving us in for years now, and I’m going to fight like hell to stop it along the way.
What needs to happen to shore up the USPS?
Well, for years, remember, they made USPS pre-fund retiree health benefits, so it made USPS look as if it was much less profitable than it really was, but it was an accounting gimmick. I think that it can become more efficient, certainly.
But at the end of the day, this is a public service. It’s not unlike making sure that, you know, every rural community in America had a post office, but making sure that rural communities and folks had a way to deliver and get communication, and veterans get their prescription drugs. This is a service to Americans. This is something that we’ve committed to as a nation, and I think we have to continue that commitment.
You’re considering a Senate run with Sen. Tina Smith’s seat opening. Are you getting pressure from DCCC to stay in CD2?
It is an important seat. I’ve got a lot to think about. I’ve been having a lot of conversations with Minnesotans, first and foremost, about what they want to see in their next U.S. senator.
I think Tina Smith has done a terrific job in representing us. And look, I’ll make a decision in the coming weeks.
Does running for governor interest you?
Public service, frankly and fighting back against this administration certainly interests me, and so I'll be strongly considering this U.S. Senate run.
To me, Gov. Walz has a decision to make about whether he wants to run for reelection as well, and I hope he does. I think the governor is doing a fantastic job for the state of Minnesota.