New Postmaster General Appointed to Lead Postal Service

David Steiner is set to become the new Postmaster General as the agency grapples with rising losses and significant debt.

A US Postal Service (USPS) post office near Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles on Feb. 5, 2025. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

WASHINGTON—The Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service (USPS), on May 9, announced that it would appoint David Steiner to be the 76th United States Postmaster General.

Steiner, a waste management executive and member of the board of FedEx, takes office after the resignation of Louis DeJoy, who was appointed during Trump’s first administration and resigned on March 24.

“As the entity with the largest union membership in the United States, I look forward to engaging with the unions and management associations to ensure that together we create a world-class employment experience,” wrote Steiner in the announcement of his appointment posted on the USPS website.

“I also look forward to working with industry associations, customers, and policymakers, as we chart a positive path forward,” he added.

The postmaster general is the highest-paid official in the U.S. government, below the President of the United States, and is appointed by the Board of Governors of the USPS, whose members are nominated and appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Steiner is a career corporate executive who was the president and chief executive officer of Waste Management (WM)—a garbage disposal company with a fleet of trucks in the United States and Canada—from 2004 to 2016.

Before then, he served in senior roles at WM and worked as an attorney, including as a partner at Phelps Dunbar LLP and counsel at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

Steiner holds a Juris Doctor from the University of California–Los Angeles, and an undergraduate degree in accounting from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

At the time of his appointment, Steiner was an independent director on the board of FedEx, which is a private competitor to the USPS. The agency announced that he would leave this role.

The role of postmaster general has attracted controversy in recent years, particularly during the 2020 presidential election, which was held amid the COVID-19 pandemic and involved millions of absentee and mail ballots, as voters remained at home for protection against the virus.

During that time, Democrats accused DeJoy, the then-postmaster, of failing to promptly deliver such ballots, which were thought to be cast by progressive voters in favor of Democrats.

Likewise, during Biden’s tenure, the USPS was criticized by Republicans for a plan to transition the agency’s fleet to electric vehicles.

Meanwhile, the USPS is facing significant financial issues amid rising costs and declining use of mail services.

Along with Steiner’s appointment, the agency announced a $3.3 billion net loss during the first quarter of 2025.

In Fiscal Year 2024, the agency had $13 billion in debt against a statutory limit of $15 billion.

Trump has previously floated that USPS could be merged with the Department of Commerce.