- Postmaster DeJoy testified during a hearing on the postal crisis in the House Committee on Wednesday.
- The same day, Biden nominated three people to open positions on the agency’s board of directors.
- If everything is confirmed by the Senate, the council could possibly have the votes needed to oust DeJoy
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After several weeks of increasing pressure from Democrats, President Joe Biden has nominated three nominees to open positions on the U.S. Postal Service’s Executive Board, as a first step toward controlling the agency that sparked a controversy under the Trump administration last year. government.
According to The Washington Post, Biden has nominated two Democrats and a lawyer for voting rights – Ron Stroman, Anton Hajjar and Amber McReynolds. Stroman previously served as deputy postmaster general, Hajjar served as a former board member for the American Postal Workers Union, and McReynolds is the executive director of the National Vote at Home Institute.
If all three are confirmed by the Senate, the Democrats will essentially gain an advantage over the governing body, which according to The Post will have equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans and one independent in McReynolds.
The board could then have the potential vote to oust the current postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, who last summer voiced criticism over a redevelopment of the agency that led to slower postal service and caused many people concern on the agency’s ability to handle the influx of enrollment ballots for the 2020 general election.
DeJoy has faced repeated calls for his resignation since the summer, and some progressive lawmakers have urged Biden to remove the entire board of governors as a way to fill the body with people who would support DeJoy’s removal, according to Politico.
Biden’s three nominees are also an important step towards diversifying the current male, mostly white governing body. Of Biden’s nominees, Stroman is black, McReynolds is a woman and Hajjar gives legal advice to the US-Arab Committee against Discrimination, reports Politico.
Unlike its governing body, the U.S. Postal Service is disproportionately black and female compared to the rest of the federal workforce, the Pew Research Center showed in a May 2020 report.
At a meeting of the House Review and Reform Committee, Rep. Missouri’s Cori Bush interviewed DeJoy about the board’s lack of diversity, comparing the group to a ‘millionaires white boys’ club’.
DeJoy pushed back, reminding lawmakers that the president is responsible for appointing councilors and the Senate is responsible for confirming them, noting that the agency ‘would like a diverse council’.
According to Politico, at times during the trial on Wednesday, DeJoy sometimes appeared “disturbed” by questions about and discussion of the critical media coverage that USPS experienced during his tenure.
He remained defiant and told lawmakers he was not going anywhere and planned to be in the office for a long time.
But later that day, the White House indicated that it might have other plans for the fighting postmaster.
‘He [Biden] believes the leadership can do better, and we are eager to have the council of governors in place, ‘said press secretary Jen Psaki, according to The Hill, when asked if the president was interested in replacing DeJoy.
Lawmakers have also questioned DeJoy about his next plan for the agency, which according to The Post will include higher prices and slower delivery. He apparently told committee members that a strategic plan for the USPS should be ready by March.
DeJoy acknowledged that the USPS experienced major delays during the holiday season, citing problems with the agency’s air travel network as the cause.
According to Politico, the agency has reported billions in losses over the past few years, and Ron Bloom, chairman of the Postal Council, told lawmakers on Wednesday that the agency is expected to lose about $ 160 billion over the next decade if reform measures are not taken.
“The years of financial stress, underinvestment, unattainable service standards and a lack of operational precision have led to a system that does not have sufficient resilience to adapt and adapt to changing circumstances,” DeJoy allegedly testified and argued. that the agency’s structural problems preceded its arrival.
Most Republicans defended DeJoy during the trial, accusing their Democratic colleagues of insulting the postmaster general about how the agency handled the ballot papers that led to the 2020 election, which sometimes led to a tense exchange during the trial. led between members. report.
Several of the operational changes the USPS made under DeJoy last summer were halted in August, after the public shouted about the growing crisis. According to the agency’s internal watchdog, the changes combined with COVID-19 staffing issues in October are having a negative impact on the quality and timeliness of mail delivery, according to Politico.