'We Can't Allow This to Happen': Musk Touts Postal Service, Amtrak Privatization

Elon Musk sparked calls Thursday to fight what one union called an "illegal power grab" after the senior adviser to President Donald Trump and de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency said that the United States Postal Service and Amtrak, the national passenger rail service, should be privatized.

"I think logically we should privatize anything that can reasonably be privatized," Musk—who is advising Trump on how to eviscerate federal agencies—said while appearing remotely at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference. "I think we should privatize the post office and Amtrak for example... We should privatize everything we possibly can."

"Basically, something's got to have some chance of going bankrupt, or there's not a good feedback loop for improvement," he opined.

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employs more than 600,000 people. Amtrak has more than 21,000 workers.

"Big banks are already drawing up plans for a fire sale of the most profitable parts of our postal network."

Musk called the state of Amtrak "kind of embarrassing" and contrasted the U.S. rail system with the networks of countries including China, where the central government has financed the construction of nearly 30,000 miles (48,200 km) of high-speed lines. The United States has less than 300 miles of high-speed rail.

"Amtrak is a sad situation," Musk asserted. "It's like, if you're coming from another country, please don't use our national rail. It can leave you with a very bad impression of America."

Responding to Musk's remarks, Progressive Mass political director Jonathan Cohn said on social media, "This is their end goal: the privatization of as much of the U.S. government as possible, enriching the rich and leaving everyone else worse off."

Like Musk, Trump has also expressed support for privatizing the USPS, a move recommended by his Office of Management and Budget during his first term. The president also sought to slash Amtrak's funding during his first administration.

Last month, reporting that Trump is seeking to place the USPS under the control of the Commerce Department—which is led by billionaire cryptocurrency banker Howard Lutnick—sparked outrage and allegations of illegality.

"White House sources recently briefed the media that they were planning an illegal power grab of our public Postal Service," the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) said in an email this week responding to ongoing attacks on the USPS. "Such a power grab could allow them to put into action our greatest fear. Stripping our services and selling off our USPS."

"Big banks are already drawing up plans for a fire sale of the most profitable parts of our postal network, raising shipping costs for the public, and leaving taxpayers on the hook to fund the rest," APWU added. "We can't allow this to happen!"

Last month, longtime Postmaster General Louis DeJoy signaled he would step down by asking the United States Postal Service Board of Governors to begin selecting his successor. DeJoy's tenure has been marred by allegations of criminal election obstruction, conflicts of interest, and other corruption. His Delivering for America, a 10-year austerity plan, has been condemned by some critics as a roadmap to privatization.

It's not just the USPS and Amtrak. Key members of the Trump administration and their oligarch allies are pursuing policies and actions opponents argue are ultimately aimed at privatizing a sweeping range of federal agencies and services, from public education to veterans' healthcare to mortgage lending, Social Security, Medicare, and more.