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WASHINGTON – President Biden on Wednesday announced three candidates to fill vacant seats on the Postal Service’s board of governors, a move aimed at increasing Democratic influence over the future of the besieged agency.
If the nominees are confirmed by the Senate, the nominated Democrats and Democrats would gain a majority on the nine-member board. This would give them the power to oust Louis DeJoy, a major Republican donor who has served as Postmaster General since last year, if they so choose. The council, not the president, hires and dismisses the Postmaster General.
The announcement came on the same day that the House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a hearing on how to address the post office’s widespread service and financial problems, marking the first time Mr. DeJoy has testified before lawmakers since the November election.
The postal service was thrown into the national spotlight last summer amid nationwide slowdowns that coincided with operational changes instituted by Mr DeJoy, raising fears ahead of the election of postal voting delays. Democrats accused Mr. DeJoy, a supporter of President Donald J. Trump, of attempting to curtail postal voting at a time when Mr. Trump was also promoting a false narrative that he was rife with fraud .
But Mr DeJoy has also drawn fire for lingering delivery issues since the election, as the Postal Service struggles to find a stronger financial footing.
In his opening statement on Wednesday, DeJoy apologized for the slow delivery times of the service during the 2020 holiday season.
“We have to recognize that during this peak season we did not meet our service targets,” he said. “Too many Americans have had to wait weeks for major mail and parcel deliveries. This is unacceptable, and I apologize to customers who felt the impact of our delays. “
He pledged the agency “would do better” and added: “Above all, my message is that the status quo is not acceptable to anyone.”
Mr Biden’s announcement was his most direct move to date to resolve the service’s issues. The presidential candidates are Anton Hajjar, former general counsel for the American Postal Workers Union; Amber McReynolds, Executive Director of the National Vote at Home Institute; and Ron Stroman, who resigned his post as Deputy Postmaster General last year and later served in Mr Biden’s transition as head of the agency’s review team for the service postal.
“These experienced and tested leaders will ensure that the USPS operates to the highest standards of service and can effectively and efficiently serve all communities in our country,” the White House said in its announcement.
Mr DeJoy said postal service executives had developed a 10-year strategy for the agency that would include “a commitment to provide delivery service six and seven days a week to every address in the country.”
He later admitted, however, that the Postal Service “is evaluating all service standards”, suggesting that it may not be able to meet its current criteria for timely mail delivery.
Lawmakers are debating a bill that would repeal, among other provisions, a financially burdensome requirement that the service pre-fund retiree health care. Republican and Democratic lawmakers have expressed support for the changes.
But at the hearing, Republicans reminded the committee of last summer’s political battles amid delivery delays, calling on Democrats for what they saw as unfair charges against Mr DeJoy.
“Why should we believe that the enraged resistance is not going to continue?” said Rep. Jody B. Hice, Republican of Georgia. “If moving blue boxes and mail sorters and trying to make overtime sane is somehow seen as criminal activity by the postmaster, then what will happen to the business plan he offers?”
Delays last year sparked a series of lawsuits that forced the Postal Service to temporarily postpone operational changes. But service issues continued to plague the agency, and some Democrats have called on Mr Biden to replace the entire Postal Service Board.
Asked by Rep. Jim Cooper, Democrat of Tennessee, how long he planned to serve in his post, Mr. DeJoy replied, “A long time. Get used to me.
At another point, Mr DeJoy said Mr Biden did not call him to resign, nor did he have any board members.
Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., Democrat of New Jersey, welcomed the president’s announcement on Wednesday, saying in a statement that it was a “milestone, and hopefully the start.” But Mr Pascrell added that Mr Biden should remove existing board members, who he said had “been silent and complicit in the sabotage of DeJoy.”
On Tuesday, the Postal Service selected Oshkosh Defense, a manufacturer of military vehicles, for a $ 482 million contract to supply the next generation of postal delivery trucks, rather than an electric vehicle maker.
Sheelagh McNeill contributed to the research.
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