I’m not snailing the mail: DeJoy
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Friday denied slowing mail to undermine the November election, telling a Senate panel that accusation was an “outrageous claim.”
Testifying to the Senate Homeland Security Committee, DeJoy disputed claims that his reason for removing mailboxes, cutting overtime and withdrawing mail-sorting machines was to hinder mail-in ballots and help President Trump’s reelection chances.
“I’ve never spoken to the president about the Postal Service, other than to congratulate me when I accepted the position,” said DeJoy, who took office in May.
He pledged this month to pause all reforms to the Postal Service until after the election, but said the claims against him were inaccurate.
“Since I’ve been here, we spent $700 million on overtime. Overtime ran at a 13 percent rate before I got here. It runs at a 13 percent rate now,” DeJoy testified.
Asked if he’d reinstall mail-sorting machines that were removed, DeJoy said, “They’re not needed.”
On-time mail delivery has declined, DeJoy conceded, but he attributed that to the pandemic and said the USPS would prioritize ballots over first-class mail to make sure they arrive on time.
Democrats have accused DeJoy of undermining the election. On Friday he denied any role in removing mailboxes or closing post offices.
The USPS also launched a new vote-by-mail resource Web site on Friday, at About.USPS.com.
“I have nothing to do with collection boxes,” DeJoy insisted, claiming 35,000 boxes were retired over the past 10 years due to declining demand.
The postmaster encouraged people to “vote early” and said he told his management team to “double” efforts on election mail.
Some Democrats remained unconvinced.
“Here’s why we’re skeptical,” said Sen. Tom Carper (Del.), “because we have a president who doesn’t want to have vote-by-mail.”