Upon assuming office on June 16, 2020, he began taking measures such as banning overtime and extra trips to deliver mail, to reduce costs. He did not communicate the reasons for such changes within the organization,
[22] and such measures also resulted in
slowing of the mail service.
[47][48][49] Congressional Democrats called for the measures to be rolled back.
[50] More than 600 high-speed mail sorting machines were scheduled to be dismantled and removed from postal facilities,
[51] raising concerns that mailed ballots for the November 3 election might not reach election offices on time.
[52]
In the summer of 2020, removal of mail collection boxes became a controversial issue, as photos of their removal spread on social media. The USPS stated that repositioning mailboxes to from low- to high-traffic areas was a longstanding practice dating back decades, and the practice of removing some boxes was influenced by an overall decrease in first-class mail volume, as was the decommissioning of mail-sorting machines.
[53] In August 2020, DeJoy announced that the Postal Service would halt the removal of mailboxes and decommissioning of mail-sorting equipment until after the November election.
[54][35][55]
On August 7, 2020, DeJoy announced he had reassigned or displaced 23 senior USPS officials, including the two top executives overseeing day-to-day operations.
[56][50] He said he was trying to breathe new life into a "broken
business model".
[57]Rep.
Gerald E. Connolly, who chairs the House committee that oversees the USPS, said the reorganization was "deliberate
sabotage".
[50]
In a letter to postal workers on August 13, 2020, DeJoy confirmed reports of delays in mail delivery, calling them "unintended consequences" of changes that eventually would improve service.
[58] At the same time that he was taking measures that postal workers and union officials said were slowing down mail delivery, President Trump told a TV interviewer that he himself was blocking funds for the postal service in order to hinder mail-in voting.
[59]
He said that equipment that had already been removed would not be restored.
[61][62] Documents obtained by
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington indicated that DeJoy lied under oath when he testified to Congress on August 24 that he did not order the restrictions on overtime.
[63] At this congressional testimony DeJoy admitted that he was unaware of the cost of mailing a postcard or a smaller greeting card, the starting rate for US Priority Mail, or how many Americans voted by mail in the
2016 elections.
[64]
In September 2020, a court blocked the USPS from sending Colorado households a mailer with false and
misleadinginformation about
vote-by-mail for
Colorado.
Secretaries of state had requested that DeJoy show them previews of the mailers that the USPS intended to send out, but DeJoy refused, according to Colorado Secretary of State
Jena Griswold.
[65] The suit was settled that month, with the USPS agreeing to show previews of any future election mailers or materials to Colorado's secretary of state and attorney general for their review and potential veto.
[66]
The next month, USPS agreed to reverse all changes implemented in June that affected mail services to
Montana, settling a lawsuit brought by the state's governor against the institution and DeJoy a day before a hearing was to take place in
U.S. District Court in
Great Falls. The government institution agreed to reverse removal of collection boxes and mail sorting machines, closure or consolidation of mail processing facilities, reduced retail hours, banning or restricting overtime, and restriction of late or extra trips for timely mail delivery, affecting all 50 states.
[67]
USPS was sued in federal court in September 2020 by American Oversight to "compel the release of directives, guidance, analyses, and key emails from Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and his chief of staff related to voting by mail" after USPS failed to respond to FOIA requests for such information within the legally designated time per
If you don't believe this guy and Trump were purposely trying to slow up the mail, well, I guess that shouldn't surprise me since you vote for Trump.
apnews.com
en.wikipedia.org
