Postmaster General Axes Policies Blamed For Mail Delays

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said he will suspend recent policies implemented within the U.S. Postal Service after the changes drew intense scrutiny due to the possibility of mail delays.

According to a statement released by DeJoy, the top USPS official said he plans to expand a task force on election mail and expects the Postal Service to deliver “election mail on time and within our well-established service standards.”

In suspending the policies, DeJoy said retail hours would not be changed, neither mail-sorting machines nor blue mailboxes would be removed, no mail-processing facilities would be closed, and overtime would be available as needed so that he could avoid "even the appearance of any impact on election mail."

DeJoy, a former supply-chain CEO who took over the Postal Service in June, recently sparked nationwide outcry over delays, new service prices and cutbacks just as millions of Americans will be trying to vote by mail during the coronavirus pandemic.

The first postmaster general in nearly two decades who is not a career postal employee, DeJoy pledged to modernize the money-losing agency to make it more efficient. He eliminated most overtime for postal workers, imposed restrictions on transportation and reduced of the quantity and use of mail-processing equipment.

Democrats and some Republicans said actions by DeJoy, a Trump ally and a major Republican donor, endangered millions of Americans who rely on the post office to obtain prescription drugs and other needs, including the expected surge in mail-in voting this fall.

On Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives scrambled to prepare an emergency vote to halt delivery delays and service changes that could imperil the election, The Associated Press reported.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the House back into session over the crisis at the Postal Service, setting up a political showdown amid growing concerns that the Trump White House is trying to undermine the agency ahead of the election.

The Postal Service said it has stopped removing mailboxes and mail-sorting machines amid an outcry from lawmakers. President Donald Trump flatly denied he was asking for the mail to be delayed even as he leveled fresh criticism on universal ballots and mail-in voting.

DeJoy is to testify Friday at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing about the U.S. Postal Service’s vote-by-mail financial requirements, two people familiar with the decision told the Post.

He also is set to testify Monday before Congress, along with the chairman of the Postal Service board of governors.

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