• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, June 2, 2025

An Instagram post by attorney Shaun Southworth cites a Washington Post story reporting that the President may fire the entire governing board of the U.S. Postal Service and put the USPS under the Commerce Department, “essentially making it a part of his administration.” 

We sincerely hope that this is fake news. But what if it isn’t?

The USPS is now an independent agency, “meaning it’s supposed to operate separately from political control,” Southworth says. 

It also is a critical lifeline for print newspapers. Publishers ranging from small independents to the giant Gannett have dispensed with their old-time  delivery operations and are using the USPS to accommodate their reduced print schedules. 

On the most basic level, they are gambling with their livelihoods that the newspapers will be delivered on time. History shows that they aren’t always.  

But there is a larger danger: that a rogue administration, Republican or Democrat, can censor newspapers by not delivering them or bringing the publishers up on some kind of charges. This would give the executive branch leverage over publishers that it does not have now.  

One possible mechanism for this would be the U.S, Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), an institution whose agents were once called “ear biters” because one bit off another man’s ear in a bar fight.

We could end up with a self-proclaimed mail czar like Anthony Comstock, who took it upon himself to decide what obscenity was, and he saw it in everything from birth control literature to fine art.  

In fairness, postal inspectors have honorably fought mail fraud and related offenses and have heroically protected the mails, often putting their lives on the line. But they could just as easily be used against publishers whose opinions someone doesn’t like.

Moreover, the proposed change “could impact everything from elections to rural mail delivery,” Southworth says.  

Another possible scheme would be to privatize the USPS. A privatized postal service could eliminate routes based on population—and political leanings.

Granted, the USPS faces serious financial issues and the challenge from the internet. But that is no excuse for politicians to destroy it. They should keep their hands off this venerable institution.