The White House is shooting down reports that President Trump wants to take control of the U.S. Postal Service, which could be a first step toward privatizing it. 

On Friday, the White House reacted to reports that Mr. Trump is planning to eliminate the USPS Board of Governors and place the agency under the control of the Commerce Department. The Wall Street Journal also reported the president is preparing an executive order to fire the governing board.

However, in a statement to CNN, the White House said, “This is not true. No such EO (executive order) is in the works, and Secretary Lutnick is not pushing for such an EO.”

After parsing the statement, CNN insisted that the White House may have denied plans to disband the USPS governing board but was “silent on the question as to whether it is interested in privatizing the service, which is something that Trump has voiced support for in the past.”

The Washington Post’s report cited “six people familiar with the plans” for the USPS and said an order disbanding the governor board could come as early as this week. It also reported that the governing board retained counsel with a directive to sue the White House if  “the president were to remove members of the board or attempt to alter the agency’s independent status.” The paper said putting the postal service under the control of the Commerce Department “would probably violate federal law.”

Further fueling speculation that a scheme to privatize the service is in the works, the postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, who Mr. Trump appointed during his first term, announced he plans to resign. 

The USPS has embarked on a ten-year mission to revamp the agency, which has been losing money for years. 

A 2023 Government Accountability Office report found that “USPS’s revenues haven’t covered its expenses and debt for more than 15 years.” In the 2024 fiscal year, the postal service said it lost $9.5 billion. 

Republicans have complained about the agency’s financial problems and what they view as its poor management. In a December hearing, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer, suggested that there are parts of the USPS’ operations that “would be better left to the private sector.”

Meanwhile, Elon Musk, who is involved in efforts to slash the federal government’s budget through DOGE, criticized the cost of a fleet of EVs for the agency. 

Despite its financial struggles, a 2024 Pew Research Center poll found that more than 70 percent of Americans have a favorable view of the agency, making it one of the most popular agencies in the federal government. 

Many reports discussing plans to privatize the USPS note that it is required by federal law to deliver to all addresses and raise questions about whether all Americans would be able to get deliveries if the postal service is privatized.