The Washington Post reports that President Trump “has personally pushed U.S. Postmaster General Megan Brennan to double the rate the Postal Service charges Amazon.com and other firms to ship packages” as he has continued to argue that Amazon’s low shipping costs are a cause of the Postal Service’s financial problems. Those criticisms, the story notes, “culminated in the signing of an executive order mandating a government review of the financially strapped Postal Service that could lead to major changes in the way it charges Amazon and others for package delivery.”
The Trump-Brennan meetings have not appeared on the president’s public schedule, the story says.
The Post writes that “Brennan has so far resisted Trump’s demand, explaining in multiple conversations occurring this year and last that these arrangements are bound by contracts and must be reviewed by a regulatory commission … She has told the president that the Amazon relationship is beneficial for the Postal Service and gave him a set of slides that showed the variety of companies, in addition to Amazon, that also partner for deliveries.”
Those explanations apparently have no resonated with the president, who also has accused the Post “of being Amazon’s ‘chief lobbyist’ as well as a tax shelter — false charges. He says Amazon uses these advantages to push bricks-and-mortar companies out of business. Some administration officials say several of Trump’s attacks aimed at Amazon have come in response to articles in the Post that he didn’t like.”
Amazon CEO/founder Jeff Bezos owns the Post in a personal investment, and execs at the newspaper say he has absolutely no role in its editorial coverage.
The Post writes that “Trump has berated Amazon and the Post on social media, briefly driving down Amazon’s stock price. And he has said publicly that he doesn’t believe the information he has been presented by some of his advisers and Brennan herself regarding the Postal Service’s contract with Amazon.”
While the USPS has suffered through billions of dollars of losses over more than a decade, the general consensus has been that its financial problems can be traced to a decline in first class mail and pension reporting requirements imposed by the US Congress; package shipping is seen as both a bright spot and profit center for the post office.
The Trump-Brennan meetings have not appeared on the president’s public schedule, the story says.
The Post writes that “Brennan has so far resisted Trump’s demand, explaining in multiple conversations occurring this year and last that these arrangements are bound by contracts and must be reviewed by a regulatory commission … She has told the president that the Amazon relationship is beneficial for the Postal Service and gave him a set of slides that showed the variety of companies, in addition to Amazon, that also partner for deliveries.”
Those explanations apparently have no resonated with the president, who also has accused the Post “of being Amazon’s ‘chief lobbyist’ as well as a tax shelter — false charges. He says Amazon uses these advantages to push bricks-and-mortar companies out of business. Some administration officials say several of Trump’s attacks aimed at Amazon have come in response to articles in the Post that he didn’t like.”
Amazon CEO/founder Jeff Bezos owns the Post in a personal investment, and execs at the newspaper say he has absolutely no role in its editorial coverage.
The Post writes that “Trump has berated Amazon and the Post on social media, briefly driving down Amazon’s stock price. And he has said publicly that he doesn’t believe the information he has been presented by some of his advisers and Brennan herself regarding the Postal Service’s contract with Amazon.”
While the USPS has suffered through billions of dollars of losses over more than a decade, the general consensus has been that its financial problems can be traced to a decline in first class mail and pension reporting requirements imposed by the US Congress; package shipping is seen as both a bright spot and profit center for the post office.
- KC's View:
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I see no reason to disbelieve the Postmaster General.
