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United States Postal Service
| United States Postal Service | |
| Year created: | 1971 |
| Official website: | Office website |
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the executive branch created by the Postal Reorganization Act in 1970. It began its operations on July 1, 1971.[1]
The Postal Service does not receive tax revenues, but rather operates through the sale of postal products and services.[2] It is run by a board of directors, that includes nine presidential appointees, the postmaster general, and the deputy postmaster general.
The tradition of the Postal Service is rooted in early American history when the Second Continental Congress named Benjamin Franklin the first postmaster general.[3][4]
As of February 2025, Louis DeJoy was the postmaster general, and Douglas Tulino was the deputy postmaster general.[5] On February 18, 2025, the USPS announced DeJoy's intent to retire, and that the Board of Governors had begun the process of identifying his successor. The office of deputy postmaster general was vacant.[6]
Mission
The Postal Service provided the following mission statement on its website:
| “ |
|
” |
| —United States Postal Service[8] | ||
History
The following is an abbreviated timeline of significant dates in U.S. postal history:[4]
- 1775: The Second Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin as the first postmaster general
- 1847: U.S. postage stamps were first issued
- 1874: The General Postal Union was established
- 1971: The United States Postal Service began its operations
- 2006: Congress passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act
Leadership
The Postal Service is run by a board of directors called the Board of Governors. This board is composed of nine governors, the postmaster general, and the deputy postmaster general.[5]
The governors are appointed by the president and serve for seven years. No more than five of the governors can belong to the same political party. The nine governors select the postmaster general, who serves an indefinite term. The postmaster general can be removed by a majority of the governors.[5]
As of February 2025, the Board of Governors included the following individuals:[5]
| United States Postal Service leadership | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Name | Term start | Appointed by | ||
| Postmaster general | Louis DeJoy | 2020 | Board of Governors | ||
| Deputy postmaster general | Douglas Tulino | 2021 | Board of Governors and postmaster general | ||
| Board of Governors Chair | Amber F. Reynolds | 2021 | President Joe Biden (D) | ||
| Board of Governors Vice Chairman | Derek Kan | 2022 | President Joe Biden (D) | ||
| Board of Governors Member | Robert M. Duncan | 2018 | President Donald Trump (R) | ||
| Board of Governors Member | Roman Martinez IV | 2019 | President Donald Trump (R) | ||
| Board of Governors Member | Ronald Stroman | 2021 | President Joe Biden (D) | ||
| Board of Governors Member | Daniel Tangherlini | 2022 | President Joe Biden (D) | ||
| Board of Governors Member | Vacant | N/A | N/A | ||
| Board of Governors Member | Vacant | N/A | N/A | ||
| Board of Governors Member | Vacant | N/A | N/A | ||
Annual operating revenue and other key figures
The following table shows the annual operating revenue, number of career employees, mail volume, delivery points, and total retail offices for the Postal Service between 2011 and 2023.[9]
See also
- Executive Branch
- Donald Trump presidential administration, 2025
- Joe Biden presidential administration
Footnotes
- ↑ Federal Register, "Postal Service," accessed March 16, 2021
- ↑ USPS, "Deliver the Facts," accessed March 16, 2021
- ↑ USPS, "An American History," accessed March 16, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 USPS, "Significant Dates," accessed March 16, 2021
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 USPS, "Leadership," accessed March 16, 2021
- ↑ USPS, "United States Postal Service Announces Tenure Plan of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy," February 18, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ USPS, "About the United States Postal Service," accessed March 16, 2021
- ↑ USPS, "Postal Facts," accessed March 16, 2021
