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Postmaster General David Steiner is implementing Trump's executive order restricting mail ballots amid Democratic criticism and past remarks he made mocking Trump in 2007.
Postmaster General David Steiner is implementing President Donald Trump's executive order restricting mail ballots, drawing sharp criticism from Democrats who accuse the U.S. Postal Service leader of enabling political interference in elections. Steiner, the top official at the USPS, moved quickly to finalize a rule implementing the measure after Trump signed the order this year, arguing he had little choice but to follow it.
Steiner said he refused to endorse the Republican president's order as sound policy, stating he was focused on implementation and letting the courts ultimately decide the matter. He added that he does not get to decide which rules to accept or reject, noting that the Postal Service is an independent agency of the executive branch.
Steiner Faces Criticism Over Mail Ballot Rule
The episode prompted fierce criticism of Steiner for allowing Trump to deploy an agency designed to be shielded from politics. Critics called him a Trump lackey and accused him of abandoning the Postal Service's independent tradition.
Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, a Democrat, recently asked Congress to deploy observers to ensure postal workers can scan envelopes holding mail ballots without disruption. Aguilar said the Trump administration has attempted to weaponize federal agencies to interfere in elections and that the leadership at USPS is going along with it.
Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, accused Steiner of being a Trump pawn during a congressional hearing this summer. Dozens of congressional Democrats have pressed Steiner to reveal his interactions with the White House during the development of the mail ballot rule. A senator from Missouri, incensed by abandoned mail, called for Steiner's resignation and introduced legislation to block him from receiving a bonus.
Past Remarks About Trump Resurface
Long before he was the top official at the U.S. Postal Service, Steiner was a corporate executive when he came across Trump on television in the mid-2000s. Steiner, then the CEO of Waste Management, mocked Trump's leadership style during a speech, saying that if that is leadership and what the culture and media portray as leadership, then society is in trouble.
He added to laughter that if he had to get his hair to look like that to be a leader, people could count him out. Steiner recalled speaking at the university but said he did not remember his comments, acknowledging a tendency to be flippant.
During a lengthy interview, Steiner seemed surprised at points by his reception in Washington. He insisted he was not a political person and said he had no intention of stepping down despite the criticism. He dismissed heated congressional appearances as theater at odds with more substantive private interactions on Capitol Hill. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Steiner's remarks or his stewardship of the Postal Service.
Background Of The Postal Service And Steiner
The Postal Service dates to Benjamin Franklin, the first postmaster general, whose portrait and bust are displayed in Steiner's office overlooking the Washington Wharf. The agency has more than 630,000 employees, dwarfing many Cabinet departments.
While the quickest way to top jobs in Trump's Washington is often by writing big checks, the 66-year-old Steiner does not appear to have followed that course. He has largely donated to Republicans but also gave to John Kerry's Democratic presidential campaign in 2004.
Born in Oakland, California, as one of eight children to a father who spent his career at Chevron, Steiner worked in corporate and securities law before moving to Waste Management in 2000. He became CEO in 2004 and ran the company for 12 years. He was also a longtime director at FedEx, where board chairman Brad Martin recalled him as outcome oriented and rarely political. Martin said Steiner will follow the rules and the law, adding that he does not recall them ever talking politics.
By the time a headhunter contacted Steiner about the postmaster general job, he was largely removed from daily corporate life and initially demurred. He changed his mind, he said, during a visit to the beaches of Normandy, feeling a sense of civic duty.
Now at the Postal Service, he earns about $346,000 in annual salary along with a relocation bonus that amounts to half his salary, far less than the $17 million in compensation he earned during his final year at Waste Management. His current role is designed to exist one layer removed from the political process, reporting to a board of governors that is selected by the president and confirmed by the Senate. He was hired in 2025 by a board that was made up of five members, three of whom were Democrats. All but one were appointed by the president. That makeup could change as four Trump nominees, all Republicans, await Senate confirmation. Steiner can be fired only by the board. Steiner said he first met Trump along with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at the board's urging after he was already selected as postmaster general.
David Steiner USPS Trump Mail Ballot Order Postmaster General Mail Ballots Cisco Aguilar Elissa Slotkin
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