Deputy Postmaster General Calls It Quits

Ron Stroman

Two days after it announced its selection of a new chief executive, the U.S. Postal Service's #2 official submitted his resignation, the USPS revealed today.

"On May 8, 2020, Ronald A. Stroman informed the Chairman of the Board of Governors and the Postmaster General of his intention to resign from the Postal Service effective on June 1, 2020," the agency stated in a report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

On May 6, the USPS's Board of Governors announced that it had unanimously chosen Louis DeJoy, a logistics-industry executive and supporter of President Trump, to become Postmaster General. He is slated to replace retiring PMG Megan Brennan on June 15.

Update: A few hours after this article was published, Brennan issued a letter announcing Stroman's resignation, noting that he is "the highest ranking African American in the history of the Postal Service" and that he spearheaded the service's vote-by mail and sustainability initiatives. (Was she praising him or explaining why the Trump Administration supposedly pushed him out?)

Stroman's resignation means he will no longer serve on the Board of Governors, which consists mostly of political appointees.

DeJoy's selection was announced less than a week after David Williams, a former USPS Inspector General, resigned as vice chairman of the Board of Governors -- reportedly because of Treasury Department meddling in what is supposed to be an apolitical agency. The Mailers Hub News newsletter recently referred to Williams as "one of the most qualified individuals ever to serve on the Board."

Stroman has been Deputy PMG since 2011. His more than 40 years of federal service include previous stints as an attorney and executive with the General Accounting Office, the House of Representatives staff, and the departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.