Hawley Launches Investigation into Failures at US Postal Service After Postmaster General Refused to Forego Bonuses

Hawley Launches Investigation into Failures at US Postal Service After Postmaster General Refused to Forego Bonuses

Tuesday, June 30, 2026

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) launched an investigation into the ongoing mail service failures plaguing Missouri, alongside potential criminal activity in abandoned mail and the alarming distribution of lavish bonuses to U.S. Postal Service (USPS) executives. The investigation follows Senator Hawley's questions to Postmaster General David Steiner in a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing last week, where he grilled Steiner on why he accepted a large bonus for himself while Missourians continue to suffer from untimely and undelivered mail.

The Postmaster General refused, both in the hearing and in subsequent communications, to return the bonus. Senator Hawley then launched an investigation, demanding documents and communications from the USPS to uncover the truth behind these practices and hold those responsible accountable.

Senator Hawley wrote, "I received your letter dated June 25, 2026, and I am disappointed that your response to our exchange at a recent committee hearing was to shift blame rather than focus on solutions. You also failed to address the concerning issue of massive bonuses for Postmasters General and executives at the United States Postal Service (USPS). As a member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, which has jurisdiction over USPS, and as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, which has jurisdiction over postal crimes, my office is launching a new congressional investigation into systematic service failures in Missouri, possible criminal activity, and bonuses for executives at USPS."

Senator Hawley continued by highlighting several instances where the USPS has failed to serve the people of Missouri effectively. The Senator cited examples such as the mountain of mail found in North St. Louis City in April 2026 and the several audits conducted by the USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG), which showed that millions of pieces of mail were delayed at important service centers in St. Louis and Kansas City.

Senator Hawley concluded, "At the same time, you and your executive team are receiving payouts that make you some of the highest paid federal employees. Even a cursory look at public filings reveals millions in non-salary compensation provided to you and your predecessors over the past 10 years, with other senior leadership raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional compensation per year. At the same time, public reports suggest you have retained restructuring consultants from a top-dollar New York firm, no doubt scouring for costs to cut. Your bonus should be an easy place to start. You seem to operate under the misapprehension that you are entitled to some kind of special deference. In fact, it's the people of Missouri that are entitled to something: you doing your job."

Access Senator Hawley's full request for productions and interrogatories here.

Read Senator Hawley's full letter below.

Dear Postmaster General Steiner:

I received your June 25, 2026 letter. I am disappointed that your response to our exchange at a recent committee hearing was to shift blame rather than actually provide answers. You also failed to address the concerning issue of massive bonuses that you and other executives at the United States Postal Service (USPS) have received. As a member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, which has jurisdiction over USPS, and as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Crime, which has jurisdiction over postal crimes, my office is launching a new congressional investigation into systematic service failures in Missouri, possible criminal activity, and bonuses for executives at USPS.

When I showed you the photograph of thousands of pieces of dumped mail discovered in North St. Louis on April 29, 2026, you testified: "This is the first time I've heard about it." When I pressed you on the broader collapse of service in my state, you asked me, "what mail?" It is unbelievable to me that this episode-subject of major press coverage and apparent criminal activity affecting thousands of residents-did not reach your desk by the time of our Senate hearing, given that your offices fielded inquiries from congressional staff.

This is just one example. Missouri has been saddled with poor service for years. When I asked the Inspector General last year to audit the St. Louis distribution center, she told me it was the worst case of failed on-time delivery they had seen in field operations reviews. Another recent audit for Kansas City found that there were nearly 100,000 delayed pieces of mail over a three-day inspection. Your current on-time delivery targets mean that you can miss nearly one piece of mail in ten and still grade yourself a success-and in 2024 and 2025 you were hitting even that low bar in Missouri only about 76 percent of the time. Despite your claims of recent improvements, my office continues to field a constant stream of constituent complaints about protracted delays and major service problems. This includes chronic delivery challenges in rural Missouri, which continues to suffer the downstream effects of the Regional Transportation Optimization (RTO) Plan, which I requested you fully terminate in my letter to you of August 5, 2025.

At the same time, you and your executive team are receiving payouts that make you some of the highest paid federal employees. Even a cursory look at public filings reveals millions in non-salary compensation provided to you and your predecessors over the past 10 years, with other senior leadership raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional compensation per year. At the same time, public reports suggest you have retained restructuring consultants from a top-dollar New York firm, no doubt scouring for costs to cut. Your bonus should be an easy place to start. You seem to operate under the misapprehension that you are entitled to some kind of special deference. In fact, it's the people of Missouri that are entitled to something: you doing your job.

So that Congress can consider remedial action, please provide the documents, communications, and written responses identified in Annex I below to my office by no later than July 15, 2026.

Sincerely,

Josh Hawley

United States Senator

Chairman

Subcommittee on Crime

Issues