Tag: Trump willing to destroy the Postal Service to better his re-election chances

Federal judge temporarily blocks USPS operational changes amid concerns about mail slowdowns, election

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A federal judge in Washington state on Thursday granted a request from 14 states to temporarily block operational changes within the U.S. Postal Service that have been blamed for a slowdown in mail delivery, saying President Trump and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy are “involved in a politically motivated attack” on the agency that could disrupt the 2020 election.

Stanley A. Bastian, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, said policies put in place under DeJoy “likely will slow down delivery of ballots” this fall, creating a “substantial possibility that many voters will be disenfranchised and the states may not be able to effectively, timely, accurately determine election outcomes.”

“The states have demonstrated that the defendants are involved in a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service,” Bastian said in brief remarks after a 2½-hour hearing in Yakima. “They have also demonstrated that this attack on the Postal Service is likely to irreparably harm the states’ ability to administer the 2020 general election.” Continue reading.

DeJoy’s Postal Service policies delayed 7 percent of nation’s first-class mail, Senate Democrat’s report says

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The postmaster general suspended some cost-cutting maneuvers but not the moves experts say are behind the worst problems

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s controversial midsummer operational directives delayed nearly 350 million pieces, or 7 percent, of the country’s first-class mail in the five weeks they were in effect, according to a new report published Wednesday by the Senate’s top Democrat in charge of postal oversight.

A month after taking charge of the U.S. Postal Service, DeJoy implemented stricter dispatch schedules on transport trucks that forced workers to leave mail behind and prohibited extra mail trips, leading to well-documented bottlenecks. Managers under him also cracked down on overtime, which postal workers commonly rely on to complete routes, though DeJoy has denied having a role in those cutbacks.

The report portrays an agency whose leadership was barely prepared to implement the new policies, did not anticipate the upheaval they might cause and is still trying to find its balance as the November election draws near and millions of people continue to experience longer wait times for their mail and packages. Continue reading.

Suspicious Timeline Shows DeJoy’s Massive Donations Just Before Trump Made Him Postmaster

How did Louis DeJoy, the first Postmaster General to have never worked in the Postal Service to ever serve in the job, get that plum position? Could it have been, oh, I don’t know, buying his way in? DeJoy donated more than $600,000 to the Trump campaign and to the Republican National Committee from the time the job opened up and getting the nod. Lisa Graves, executive director of True North Research, which investigates the influence of money on public policy, testified to Congress Monday detailing the depth of DeJoy’s spending with the GOP.

In just this 2020 cycle, he’s given more than $1.5 million to Republicans, most to Trump’s reelection and to Republican Senate races. He invested almost $80,000 in Republican Senate races since December, when the Postmaster job opened up. “This level of partisanship,” Graves said in written testimony, “undermines public trust in the Postal Service as an institution.” Why yes, yes it does. It also resurfaces all the questions that emerged about just why Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin took a detour from his day job to get DeJoy this job. Whatever motivated him, it clearly wasn’t DeJoy’s qualifications.

Ahead of Monday’s hearing, Virginia Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly, chairman of the oversight subcommittee, stated the obvious. “We have a crony at the helm of our nation’s Postal Service, a man rife with conflicts of interest and potential violations of law.” The potential violations of the law are the alleged campaign finance violations in which he used a straw donor scheme to raise over $1 million for Republicans from 2000 to 2014 from his former employees. Allegedly. He faces potential criminal liability for that in the state of North Carolina, which does not have a statute of limitations on felonies and where his company was headquartered. Continue reading.

House subpoenas embattled Postal Service leader over delays

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The House Oversight Committee on Wednesday subpoenaed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy for records about the widespread mail delivery delays that have pulled the Postal Service into the political spotlight as it prepares to handle an onslaught of ballots in the November election.

The subpoena, which seeks documents related to operational changes that have slowed mail and the agency’s plans for the presidential election, comes after committee chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney said DeJoy has not sufficiently answered the panel’s requests for more information. 

“It is clear that a subpoena has become necessary to further the Committee’s investigation and help inform potential legislative actions,” Maloney, D-N.Y., said this week. Continue reading.