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USPS regulator’s chairman, who challenged sweeping changes under DeJoy, is stepping down

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The head of the Postal Service’s regulatory agency is stepping down, after challenging some of the more controversial parts of a 10-year USPS reform plan.

Michael Kubayanda, chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission, is leaving the agency, after serving for more than six years.

Kubayanda’s term lasts through November 2026, but he told Federal News Network that he’s stepping down from the agency “completely on my own accord.”

Kubayanda led the regulatory agency at a time when its role was repeatedly questioned by the officials it was tasked with overseeing. He said the regulatory agency improved its data analytics capabilities during his tenure, and put “sensible pressure on the Postal Service to do a better job” through its advisory opinions. He noted that the commission has been addressing the concerns of policymakers and citizens about service in rural areas in particular. 

Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Michael Kubayanda is stepping down, after serving at the agency since 2018.

“We actually saw that there’s a need for strong oversight of the Delivering for America plan,” Kubayanda said. “We stepped up in the face of a lot of pressure, and I think we did a good job of providing transparency and oversight.” 

The Postal Regulatory Commission, under Kubayanda’s leadership, criticized key components of former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-year “Delivering for America” plan.

DeJoy blamed the regulator’s inaction for the worsening financial health of USPS after the 2008 recession, and questioned the need to have such a regulator. Congress created the Postal Regulatory Commission to oversee the Postal Service’s monopoly over mail.

President Donald Trump can submit his own nominee to run the regulatory agency. But in the meantime, by law, Robert Taub, the regulatory agency’s vice chairman, will carry out its administrative duties.

Trump’s eventual pick to lead the regulatory agency will oversee USPS, as led by its new postmaster general, David Steiner, a former FedEx board member and former Waste Management CEO.

Steiner said in August that USPS is “on the right path,” under a 10-year reform plan launched by his predecessor.

“The strategy is sound. Now we have to execute,” Steiner said. “But we can’t execute unless all of our team is working together. We all need to be rowing the oars in the same direction.”

Kubayanda said Steiner has worked cooperatively with the Postal Regulatory Commission. USPS, however, continues to face significant financial challenges.

“We’ve exercised strong oversight, and I think that’s been necessary. But I do want to give the new postmaster general some credit for coming off as open-minded to us, in the way he’s dealt with the postal ecosystem,” Kubayanda said. “We’re going to have to see some action, and I think he deserves a bit of a period to figure things out. But the status quo is not going to get the job done.”

USPS is roughly halfway through the 10-year “Delivering for America” plan, but is far from achieving its “break-even” financial goals. The agency is tracking to end fiscal 2025 with a nearly $7 billion net loss.

Despite declining mail volume, USPS continues to see modest growth in mail revenue. That’s because the agency has settled into a pattern of usually raising stamp prices each January and July.

But its regulator is considering limits to those price increases. A proposed rule from the Postal Regulatory Commission filed in June would limit USPS to only raising prices once per year.

Members of the USPS Board of Governors said it would be a mistake for the commission to override the board’s pricing decisions.

The regulator gave USPS the freedom to set mail prices higher than the rate of inflation in 2020, when the agency was at risk of running out of cash.

USPS raised the price of a first-class Forever stamp to 78 cents in July, but recently announced that it would not raise mail prices in January 2026. 

DeJoy announced he was stepping down in February. Before leaving the agency in March, DeJoy signed an agreement with the Department of Government Efficiency, allowing a DOGE team into the agency. USPS is largely financed through its own revenue and operates independently from the executive branch.

The regulator warned USPS in January that the next phase of its 10-year reform plan would slow down mail delivery for a “significant portion of the nation,” but wouldn’t save USPS enough money to justify the changes.

The regulator’s assessment focused on two major initiatives: USPS opening massive new mail processing facilities across the country, as part of a historic “network modernization” plan, and the agency running trucks less often between those plants and post offices to transport mail, under a “Regional Transportation Optimization” strategy.

DeJoy repeatedly butted heads with the Postal Regulatory Commission. He blamed the regulator for not allowing USPS to set mail prices higher than the rate of inflation as its financial condition deteriorated following the 2008 recession, and told lawmakers that the regulator’s probes into its “Delivering for America” plan would “put this whole plan in jeopardy.”

The PRC’s advisory opinions, however, are nonbinding, and USPS is free to keep implementing its plans.

In one of his last letters to congressional leaders, DeJoy said the regulator has “an anachronistic view of the Postal Service’s current business environment.”

Among its duties, the Postal Regulatory Commission oversees contracts between USPS and companies that often focus on discounted pricing in exchange for a guarantee of sending a certain volume of mail or packages. The commission oversaw a 400% increase in these negotiated service agreements between fiscal 2021 and 2024. The pace of contract approvals increased even more in the first three quarters of 2025, when the commission approved 1,521 contracts, according to its homepage.

“That speaks really well to our productivity. Even as we had all these high-level, big-picture things going on that took a lot of our attention, the staff did a really great job,” Kubayanda said.

Trump nominated Kubayanda to serve on the commission during his first term in June 2018, and he was later elected as its vice chairman. Former President Joe Biden appointed Kubayanda as the PRC’s chairman in January 2021, and renominated him to serve for a second term.

Lawmakers representing rural areas were some of the most vocal opponents of DeJoy’s reform plans. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said he would “do everything I can to kill” the “Delivering for America” plan.

In May, Hawley introduced the No Regional Transportation Optimization (RTO) Act, a bill that would prohibit USPS from advancing some of its reform plans if the Postal Regulatory Commission determines they would negatively impact rural communities.

Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) introduced the USPS SERVES US Act, which he said would give the Postal Regulatory Commission the “ability to do more than just give an opinion,” and would limit USPS’s ability to set higher mail prices if its on-time delivery metrics deteriorate.

“When they know a rate increase is a bad idea or they determine that service is failing, they can only say that, not step in and make changes,” Graves said.

Reps. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) and Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), introduced the Postal Processing Protection Act, which would allow community residents to appeal USPS mail processing facility closures to the PRC.

Kubayanda said the introduction of bipartisan bills strengthening the role of the Postal Regulatory Commission “speaks loudly to the fact that people feel like we had an impact,” especially for policymakers worried about service in rural areas.

The post USPS regulator’s chairman, who challenged sweeping changes under DeJoy, is stepping down first appeared on Federal News Network.

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47-Year-Old New Jersey Pilot Becomes First Recorded Death from a Rare Meat Allergy Triggered by Tick Bites

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18 hours ago

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November 16, 2025

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Close-up of a tick on a green leaf, showcasing its distinctive brown body and white markings, highlighting the importance of tick awareness for disease prevention.This is a female ‘Lone star tick’, Amblyomma americanum, and is found in the southeastern and midatlantic United States. (Credit: CDC/ Michael L. Levin, Ph. D.)

A healthy 47-year-old man from New Jersey has died after eating red meat, a death now confirmed as the first known fatality linked to Alpha‑gal syndrome (AGS), a rare meat allergy triggered by tick bites.

​The New Jersey man, an airline pilot who had no major health issues, experienced severe symptoms following the consumption of a beef steak during a camping trip in the summer of 2024.

He reported abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, and vomiting, which later subsided. ​

Approximately two weeks later, he consumed a hamburger at a barbecue, and about four hours after eating, he was found unconscious and later pronounced dead at a hospital.

​Initially, the cause of death was listed as “sudden unexplained death” due to inconclusive autopsy results. ​

However, after his wife prompted further investigation, blood samples were tested, revealing an extreme allergic reaction to alpha-gal, consistent with fatal anaphylaxis.

Mayo Clinic laboratory report showing tryptase test results indicating a level greater than 2000 ng/mL for patient undergoing autopsy.Autopsy lab report from Mayo Clinic Laboratories showing the victim’s extremely elevated tryptase level (>2,000 ng/mL), a hallmark of catastrophic anaphylaxis, supporting investigators’ conclusion that the man died from a fatal allergic reaction linked to tick-borne Alpha-gal syndrome.

​His wife noted that he had numerous “chigger” bites around his ankles earlier that summer, which researchers identified as likely being from the larvae of lone star ticks, the primary vector for AGS.

The allergy, known formally as Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), arises after a bite from certain ticks, notably the Lone Star tick (Amblyomma americanum) in the U.S., which transfers the sugar molecule alpha-gal from its saliva into a person’s bloodstream, according to the CDC.

Subsequent ingestion of mammalian meat (beef, pork, lamb) can trigger a delayed‐onset allergic reaction (3-6 hours later) that ranges from rash and nausea to full anaphylaxis.

According to the CDC, “More than 110,000 suspected cases of AGS were identified between 2010 and 2022. However, cases of AGS are not nationally notifiable to CDC. The actual number of AGS cases in the United States is not known, but as many as 450,000 people may be affected. More data and research are needed to understand how many people are affected by this condition.”

Until this case, fatal reactions had been considered theoretically possible but unconfirmed. Now, with this death documented, the medical community must treat AGS as not only serious but potentially lethal.

Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota wrote:

A previously healthy New Jersey man has been identified by an allergist at the University of Virginia (UVA) and his coauthors as suffering the first documented fatality from alpha-gal syndrome, a meat allergy triggered by tick bites. The case study was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in Practice yesterday.

[…]

The cause of death was ruled “sudden unexplained death,” after an autopsy was inconclusive, but the man’s wife gave the autopsy report to a doctor, who reached out to Thomas Platts-Mills, MD, PhD, the former chief of UVA Health’s Division of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology and first author of the case report.

Platts-Mills first identified alpha-gal syndrome in 2007 and is considered the foremost expert on the allergy.

In post-mortem blood samples, Platts-Mills found that the man had been sensitized to alpha-gal, and had had an extreme reaction, in line with what is seen in fatal anaphylaxis. Platts-Mills told CIDRAP news that the man’s tryptase level, a marker for mast-cell activation in allergic reactions, was 2,000 milligrams per milliliter. The highest tryptase level he had previously seen was 90.

Platts-Mills said the man’s wife reported he did not have recent tick bites, but had 12 or 13 chigger bites around his ankles the summer he became ill. Platts-Mills said many “chigger bites” in the Eastern United States are actually bites from lone star tick larvae.

“It is important that both doctors and patients who live in an area of the country where lone star ticks are common should be aware of the risk of sensitization,” Platts-Mills said in a UVA press release. “More specifically, if they have unexpected episodes of severe abdominal pain occurring several hours after eating mammalian meat, they should be investigated for possible sensitization to the oligosaccharide alpha-gal.”

[…]

Platts-Mills said that most cases of alpha-gal syndrome are still diagnosed on the East Coast, but the tick has been identified as far inland as Indiana, and he expects further spread.

The post 47-Year-Old New Jersey Pilot Becomes First Recorded Death from a Rare Meat Allergy Triggered by Tick Bites appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Meet the FIVE SPINELESS RINO Indiana State Senators Who Are Blocking Redistricting in a Deep-Red State Trump Won by 19 Points

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18 hours ago

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November 16, 2025

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Indiana voters should be furious.

In a state Trump carried by 19 points, where Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers, redistricting should have been a slam dunk to secure the 2026 midterms.

Instead, five weak-kneed RINOs tried to sabotage the redistricting vote, collapse the GOP strategy, and block a legitimate effort to strengthen Indiana’s congressional delegation against the Democrats’ national gerrymandering machine.

According to the AP, Republican Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray announced Friday that the chamber will not reconvene in December to vote on redistricting, after months of pressure from President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and even Gov. Mike Braun.

Why? Because these so-called Republicans refused to support it.

According to Trump advisor Alex Bruesewitz:

“A MONUMENTAL BETRAYAL IS UNFOLDING IN INDIANA RIGHT NOW.

Spineless RINO “legislators” have sabotaged and buried Republicans’ vital redistricting push. And they are letting Gavin Newsom & left-wing Democrats get closer to stealing the house.

The weak as hell State Senate President Rod Bray doesn’t even have the guts to put redistricting up for a vote!

I was just in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on Monday, rallying HUNDREDS of fired-up patriots who are unanimously demanding redistricting reform. Every genuine Republican across the state stands firmly behind it, yet these treacherous RINOs stonewall and sabotage at every turn.

Our party can no longer afford to harbor these gutless, self-serving traitors who stab us in the back while accomplishing absolutely nothing.

The entire MAGA movement will be mobilizing to Indiana to PRIMARY and OUST every last RINO blocking these essential reforms to RESCUE our nation, this will include the totally clueless and weak State Senate President.

Will get a full list of the RINOs who are obstructing shortly. What a disgrace!”

THE FIVE SENATORS BLOCKING REDISTRICTING IN A DEEP-RED STATE

1. Sen. Rick Niemeyer (317-232-9489)
2. Sen. Greg Goode (317-233-0930)
3. Sen. Brian Buchanan (317-234-9441)
4. Sen. Blake Doriot (317-232-9808)
5. Sen. Dan Dernulc (317-232-9414)

These are the lawmakers who, according to Senate leadership, simply won’t provide the votes to reconvene and approve new congressional maps that would strengthen the GOP heading into a razor-tight 2026 midterm cycle.

Bruesewitz added on X, stating, “Democrats like Gavin Newsom are pulling every lever to gerrymander their states, yet a handful of legislators in Indiana won’t even force a vote. They’d rather cave to Democrats than FIGHT for America and secure the 2026 midterms. Call their offices NOW and demand they vote YES on redistricting!”

While blue states like California, Illinois, Maryland, and New York aggressively redraw their maps to protect Democrats, Indiana Republicans, who hold a supermajority, can’t even muster the political courage to hold a vote.

Democrats gerrymander without shame. Republicans in deep-red states fold.

Call their offices. Demand a YES vote on redistricting. Make your voices heard.

The post Meet the FIVE SPINELESS RINO Indiana State Senators Who Are Blocking Redistricting in a Deep-Red State Trump Won by 19 Points appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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JFK’s Screwball Grandson and Democrat Candidate for Congress in New York Jack Schlossberg Performs Nazi Salute in Now-Deleted Video

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18 hours ago

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November 16, 2025

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Screenshot pulled from a now-deleted post by Jack Schlossberg making a Nazi salute.

Jack Schlossberg, the only grandson of former President John F. ​​Kennedy and a Democrat candidate for Congress in New York’s 12th Congressional District, has become the subject of controversy following the emergence of a now-deleted video in which he performs a Nazi salute.

The footage, originally posted to Schlossberg’s Instagram in January and hastily deleted after going viral, shows the 32-year-old Kennedy scion gleefully mimicking Adolf Hitler’s infamous gesture while mugging for the camera.

“Yo, yo, check this out,” Schlossberg said repeatedly into the camera as he raised his arm in the salute several times.

​This incident has surfaced as the unhinged Trump-hating Democrat officially announced his candidacy for the seat being vacated by Representative Jerrold Nadler.

The New York 12th District includes the Upper West Side, the Upper East Side, and Midtown Manhattan. The district’s per capita income is the highest among all districts in the US.

He wrote on Instagram:

“250 years after America was founded, and our country is at a turning point.

It’s a crisis at every level.

A cost of living crisis sponsored by the Big Beautiful Bill. Historic cuts to social programs working families rely on. Health care, education, child care.

It’s a corruption crisis. The President has made almost a billion dollars this year. He’s picking winners and losers from inside the Oval Office. It’s cronyism, not capitalism.

It’s a constitutional crisis with one dangerous man in control of all three branches of government. He’s stripping citizens of their civil rights and silencing his critics.

The worst part is: it doesn’t have to be this way. And it wasn’t, always.

We deserve better, and we can do better, and it starts with the Democratic Party winning back control of the House of Representatives.

With control of Congress, there’s nothing we can’t do. Without it, we’re helpless to a third term.

My name is Jack Schlossberg, and I’m running for Congress to represent my home, New York’s 12th congressional district, where I was born and raised, where I took the bus to school every single day from one side of the district to the other.

This is the best part of the greatest city on Earth. We have the best hospitals and schools, restaurants and museums. This is the financial and media capital of the world.

This district should have a representative who can harness the creativity, energy and drive of this district and translate that into political power in Washington.

I’m not running because I have all the answers to our problems. I’m running because the people of New York 12 do. I want to listen to your struggles, hear your stories, amplify your voice, go to Washington and execute on your behalf.

There is nowhere I’d rather be than in the arena fighting for my hometown. Over the next eight months, during the course of this campaign, I hope to meet as many of you as I can. If you see me on the street, please say hello. If I knock on your door, I hope we can have a conversation. Because politics should be personal.

Thanks more to come soon, and I’ll see you on the trail New York 12.”

JFK’s only grandson was also in another controversy for being critical of his cousin, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. ​Kennedy Jr., calling him a “dangerous person” and a “rabid dog.”

“[Trump] is so obsessed with the Kennedys, and the Kennedy name and the Kennedy brand, that he caged one and put it in his cabinet, a rabid dog in his cabinet,” Schlossberg said in an interview. “Put a collar on my cousin, RFK Jr., and has him there barking, spreading lies and spreading misinformation.”

“I don’t think it takes a genius to know that the Trump administration is the most corrupt in American history. And I don’t know who’s paying [RFK Jr.], but I know that what he’s saying isn’t making anybody healthier or safer, and that the American people should know, when he barks, who’s actually talking.”

WATCH:

The post JFK’s Screwball Grandson and Democrat Candidate for Congress in New York Jack Schlossberg Performs Nazi Salute in Now-Deleted Video appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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