The new Postmaster General is David Steiner, who took office in July 2025 as the 76th person to hold the job. He was chosen by the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors and succeeded Louis DeJoy, who retired in March 2025.1United States Postal Service. Postal Service Board of Governors Appoints David Steiner to Be 76th PMG and CEO of USPS Neither the President nor the Senate had a direct role in picking him. That is how the office works by design.
Who David Steiner Is
Steiner came to the Postal Service from the private sector. He spent 12 years as president and CEO of Waste Management, one of the largest environmental services companies in the country, where he oversaw a workforce of roughly 40,000 and a nationwide fleet of collection and transport vehicles. The Board pointed to a financial turnaround he led at the company as a key reason for his selection.1United States Postal Service. Postal Service Board of Governors Appoints David Steiner to Be 76th PMG and CEO of USPS
Before running Waste Management, Steiner held several executive posts there, including chief financial officer and general counsel. He started his career as a partner at the law firm Phelps Dunbar. He also sits on the boards of FedEx Corporation and Vulcan Materials. His degrees are a bachelor’s in accounting from Louisiana State University and a law degree from UCLA.1United States Postal Service. Postal Service Board of Governors Appoints David Steiner to Be 76th PMG and CEO of USPS
By his 100th day in office, Steiner was already presenting adjustments to the agency’s long-range strategy in public remarks before the Board.2United States Postal Service. Postmaster General David Steiner’s Nov. 14, 2025, USPS BOG Meeting Remarks
How He Got the Job
The Postmaster General is appointed by the USPS Board of Governors, and only by the Board. The nine governors are themselves nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, but the appointment of the Postmaster General does not go back through the White House or Congress.3United States Postal Service. Board of Governors Federal regulation requires an absolute majority of the governors then in office to vote yes.4eCFR. 39 CFR 6.6 With seven seats filled, that means at least four affirmative votes.
The Board announced its choice of Steiner on May 9, 2025, after a national search run by the leadership advisory firm Egon Zehnder.5United States Postal Service. U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors Retains Egon Zehnder to Lead Search Steiner then went through background and ethics clearance before formally starting in July.
One point worth clarifying, because it comes up often: federal law does not require the Postmaster General to have a postal or logistics background. The governing statute, 39 U.S.C. § 202, gives the governors the power to appoint and sets no formal qualifications.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 39 USC 202 – Board of Governors The Board has consistently picked leaders with large-scale management experience, but that is a preference, not a legal requirement.
Compensation is also set by the Board rather than fixed to the federal Executive Schedule. The governors negotiate a package with each new appointee, which gives them room to compete with private-sector pay.
The Transition From Louis DeJoy
DeJoy was the 75th Postmaster General, serving from June 2020 until March 24, 2025, after telling the Board the previous month that he intended to retire.7United States Postal Service. Postal Service Postmaster General/CEO Leadership Transition Between his last day and Steiner’s first, Deputy Postmaster General Doug Tulino served as Acting Postmaster General, running the agency with the same operational authority as a permanent appointee.8United States Postal Service. Doug Tulino, Deputy Postmaster General, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer
There is no statutory deadline for filling a Postmaster General vacancy. In 2025, the gap ran about seven weeks from DeJoy’s departure to the Board’s announcement of Steiner, followed by roughly two more months of vetting before Steiner took office. Mail operations continued under acting leadership throughout. The Board can remove a Postmaster General at any time by the same absolute-majority vote required to appoint one, and there is no fixed term.4eCFR. 39 CFR 6.6
The Delivering for America plan, the ten-year financial strategy DeJoy published in March 2021, remains in place as the backbone of the agency’s approach going forward.9United States Postal Service. Delivering for America – Our Ten-Year Plan Highlights Steiner has signaled adjustments rather than a wholesale rewrite.
What the Job Actually Runs
The Postal Service delivers to roughly 167 million addresses and employed more than 636,000 people as of the end of fiscal year 2023.10USPS Office of Inspector General. Examining Trends in the Postal Service’s Workforce Composition It receives no tax revenue and funds itself through the sale of postage and services. That combination — enormous scale, universal service obligation, self-funding — is what shapes the Board’s preference for candidates with large operational and financial track records.
The office itself dates to 1775, when the Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin as the first Postmaster General. For most of the country’s history, the Postmaster General was a Cabinet member picked directly by the President. The Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 changed that, creating the independent Board of Governors structure used today. The stated goal was to move day-to-day postal decisions out of direct political control. Board members are still presidential appointees, so the insulation is partial rather than absolute, but that structure is why Steiner’s appointment ran through the Board and not the White House.