Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) on Monday reported on X: “Tonight the House passed a Democrat bill that spends ~$500K to figure out who is crashing USPS trucks. I’d rather see that money spent on the Post Office in Yuma, CO that’s been waiting for nearly a year for repairs after a severe hailstorm hit.”
The MAGA congresswoman tagged DOGE leader Elon Musk and asked, “what do you think?”
Tonight the House passed a Democrat bill that spends ~$500K to figure out who is crashing USPS trucks.
I’d rather see that money spent on the Post Office in Yuma, CO that’s been waiting for nearly a year for repairs after a severe hailstorm hit. @elonmusk, what do you think?
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) March 4, 2025
While Boebert waits for a reply from Musk, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) faces more challenges than rebuilding the Yuma office. President Trump recently said he plans to dismantle the USPS and absorb the independent 250-year-old mail agency into his administration’s Commerce Department led by Secretary Howard Lutnick, who is reportedly urging Trump to privatize the USPS.
[NOTE: Boebert’s Yuma office closure might be viewed as a test case example for the privatization of public service functions. Proponents of privatization assert that a postal service that is run “like a business” — as opposed to a public service — will be faster and more effective in making needed repairs and bringing mission-critical offices back online. Yet the flip side, as privatization opponents point out, is that if a commercial business analysis finds that the Yuma office isn’t profitable, it might never re-open, because a privatized enterprise is by definition primarily interested in profits. The current USPS system, which provides a crucial service to U.S. citizens even where such service isn’t cost-effective can only continue to provide that service if public service — and not merely profit — is the priority.]
Boebert is not the only state lawmaker keeping an eye on the USPS. Legislators from both sides of the aisle are engaging with its fate.
U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) has also voiced concerns about USPS mail delivery delays and postal facility closures in his state, but unlike Boebert he does see the Trump/Musk/DOGE approach — prioritizing what they promote as “efficiency” — as the answer.
Markey wrote in February: “Trump’s plan to dismantle USPS is blatantly unconstitutional, entirely illegal, and flat out wrong.”
Markey added: “Rather than run an agency that works for working people, Donald Trump and his cronies want to cut off a critical lifeline for essential prescriptions, checks, legal notices, and personal documents for people everywhere… Together with our postal unions, I will continue to fight Trump’s attempts to sell off this agency to the highest bidder as we continue to advocate for a Postal Service which prioritizes postal justice.”
Note: In another example of profit vs. public service, Markey is also critical of the Trump administration’s federal spending and workforce cuts to agencies including NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), which forecasts and warns citizens of natural disasters, including the aforementioned Yuma hailstorm.
Markey wrote: “Trump wants to privatize and pay-wall information that lets you know when to evacuate for a hurricane or a wildfire, or when to shelter for a tornado. NOAA’s forecasting centers keep Americans safe and informed every day—we can’t afford to lose this lifesaving public service.”
Trump wants to privatize and pay-wall information that lets you know when to evacuate for a hurricane or a wildfire, or when to shelter for a tornado. NOAA’s forecasting centers keep Americans safe and informed every day—we can’t afford to lose this lifesaving public service. https://t.co/AVhaz4mYth
— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) March 4, 2025