Newly appointed U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy admitted that he was behind recently imposed rules that have caused severe delays in mail delivery, according to top congressional Democrats, even though the Postal Service had downplayed the changes, which come as election officials expect a surge of mail-in ballots this November
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy departs from a meeting with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, ... [+] 
On July 13, two memos, obtained by the Washington Post, circulated among Postal Service employees outlining new policies meant to cut costs at the risk of slowing down mail delivery.
The memos outline DeJoy's " expectations and plan," which included eliminating overtime and leaving mail behind at distribution centers if it would delay letter carriers from their routes.
On July 22, Thomas Marshall, the Postal Service general counsel and executive vice president, wrote a letter to the top Democrat on the Senate committee for postal oversight, Sen Gary Peters (D-Mich.), saying, "neither document should be characterized as being 'official Postal Service memoranda'" and that neither "document originated from the Postal Service Headquarters."
But in a meeting Wednesday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, DeJoy admitted that he had instituted the new rules, Schumer and Pelosi said.
Democrats have called on the Postal Service to reverse the rules and pushed for increased funding for the Postal Service in the coronavirus relief bill.
DeJoy, a major Trump donor and GOP fundraiser, was appointed postmaster general in May despite having no experience at the Postal Service. He has donated $1.2 million to the Trump Victory Fund and was in charge of fundraising for the Republican National Convention. In a July 13 statement to the Washington Post a USPS spokesman said that agency was "developing a business plan to ensure that we will be financially stable and able to continue to provide reliable, affordable, safe and secure delivery of mail, packages and other communications." The Postal Service has been in financial trouble for some time, and ran at an $8.8 billion deficit last fiscal year. In March, Congress approved a $10 billion line of credit for the Postal Service as part of the CARES Act.
70,330. That's how many mail-in ballots were disqualified in the California primary election because they weren't delivered to election officials on time, according to the Associated Press.
President Trump has spent years deriding the Postal Service, at one point calling the service "a joke" and saying that it should quadruple what it charges to ship a package.
According to a recent Morning Consult study, the U.S. Postal Service is ranked the most loved brand in America.
Top Democrats say postmaster general acknowledged new policies that workers say are delaying mail (Washington Post)
Tens of thousands of mail ballots have been tossed out in this year's primaries. What will happen in November? (Washington Post)
America's Most Loved Brand? The Post Office-No Matter What President Trump Says (Forbes)
I'm a journalist based in New York City. Before coming to Forbes I covered breaking news, police and crime for The New York Post and freelanced for The Washington Post. I
...
All Rights Reserved © 2024
