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Guided by a public relations firm, DeJoy and the U.S. Postal Service are now scrambling to clean up after weeks of criticism and allegations that the Trump administration was using the agency to meddle in the November election. DeJoy’s efforts in two Congressional hearings and other public appearances will be essential.
After an emergency closed-door meeting on Saturday between DeJoy and the Postal Service’s Board of Governors, a familiar source told CNN that the agency had hired public relations firm Weber Shandwick to help it handle messages from crisis and to combat some of the anti-postal rhetoric and postal voting. coming from the White House.
Shortly after, the Postal Service released a statement from DeJoy suspending any changes until the election was over, but did not say whether changes already made, like the removal of high-volume letter sorters, would be rolled back. .
DeJoy began preparing for his congressional hearings on Friday and Monday, two sources close to the Postmaster General told CNN. The new job has propelled DeJoy from obscurity into the limelight, a position his loved ones say he’s not entirely comfortable with. He’s also running his own awareness campaign with Congress this week, calling on Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Perhaps the most public-facing Postmaster General since Benjamin Franklin, DeJoy also plans to capitalize on his new spotlight by doing interviews on local television to appease voters fearing their mail-in ballots might be. not safe with the US Postal Service, a source told CNN. .
While many close to DeJoy blame postal unions for the leaks and negative press, he is also preparing to tap a public service announcement alongside union leaders from the National Postmen’s Association and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union who will be broadcast on television stations nationwide from September. Ronnie Stutts, president of the National Rural Mail Carrier Association, confirmed he will be part of that effort along with other union leaders.
But a public service announcement and local talks to assure Americans that voting by mail is safe and effective completely flies in the face of Trump’s narrative, who has continued to attack the process with unsubstantiated accusations that he is conducive to fraud.
The partisan divide is striking. Among the president’s supporters, 66% say they prefer to vote in person on election day. Voters supporting former Vice President Joe Biden overwhelmingly prefer to vote by mail (53%).
Sources close to DeJoy describe him as somewhat Trumpian himself. Originally from New York City, DeJoy is a well-known businessman. And like Trump, sources close to DeJoy and others who have attended meetings with him describe him as an outsider in Washington, unaware of the level of politics the post would occupy.
“He didn’t seem to understand that he would have to deal with Congress on anything,” a source close to DeJoy’s attitude told CNN.
“He was brought in because of his experience to help run a business, to help fix a broken business,” said a friend of DeJoy. “It all got too political.”
But unlike Trump, DeJoy seems to be quickly learning how to best navigate Washington. With a quick willingness to testify and personal appeals to top Democrats, DeJoy is actively drawing a line between himself and the White House, a Trump is likely to notice.
The suspension of changes and the implementation of additional resources, make postal voting appear legitimate, as Trump has actively worked to discredit it.
Alarming changes to the postal service
Postal workers began sounding the alarm earlier this month after changes instituted by DeJoy, a Trump ally and donor, caused delays in delivery service. With millions of Americans expected to vote by mail amid a pandemic, the massive delays sparked outcry from Democratic and Republican lawmakers over access to the ballot boxes and the vote count ahead of the November election.
Last week, the Postal Service’s Inspector General began a review of the changes and their impact on the elections, after senators called for an investigation. State officials also expressed concern over the integrity of the elections after more than 40 states received letters from the postal service warning them that ballots may not be delivered on time.
While the USPS sent out warnings of potential election delays late last week, CNN obtained documents showing its intention to remove nearly 700 high-volume letter sorters by November. And images of blue letterboxes transported in trucks began to circulate on social media. While some Republicans have argued that the removal plan was an effort to save the Postal Service from its dire financial situation, the timing, coupled with Trump’s assault on mail-in voting, has fueled claims that the Trump administration was using the postal service to influence the election. , an accusation that DeJoy denies.
“To avoid even the appearance of an impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until the end of the election,” DeJoy said.
According to the statement, USPS is also building its pre-election capacity: by expanding a leadership task force on election mail and committing “standby resources in all areas of our operations, including transportation, to meet any demands.” unforeseen ”.
But questions remain as to whether the damage has already been done. USPS did not respond to multiple requests for comment on what this meant for machines and boxes already retired.
In a statement, USPS said it has worked with Weber Shandwick for more than a decade.
“Weber Shandwick has been the go-to communications agency for the United States Postal Service since 2009, including strategy, marketing, crisis, internal and external communications,” the USPS statement said.
CNN’s Phil Mattingly contributed to this report.
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