David Steiner, a former CEO of the nation's largest waste management company who currently serves on the FedEx board of directors, is poised to take over control of the U.S. Postal Service , becoming the nation's 76th postmaster general.
The announcement of Steiner's appointment, which drew immediate concerns from postal unions over possible efforts to privatize the USPS, was made Friday by Amber McReynolds, chairperson of the USPS' Board of Governors, during a meeting of the independent group that oversees the service.
"We anticipate that Mr. Steiner will join the organization in July, assuming his successful completion of the ethics and security clearance processes that are currently underway," McReynolds said.
Friday's announcement by the the Board of Governors comes as President Donald Trump and his adviser Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency have raised the idea of privatizing the nearly 250-year-old Postal Service , which has faced financial challenges amid a changing mail mix and other issues.
The choice of Steiner has been seen by the postal unions as a harbinger for possible privatization of some or all of the venerable quasi-public institution, which is largely self-funded and has a mission to serve every address in the country - nearly 167 million residences, businesses and post office boxes.