Friend, Trump’s hand-picked postmaster general Louis DeJoy blindsided USPS staff last Friday night -- when he unexpectedly reassigned 23 of the agency’s top officials.
These sudden changes give DeJoy -- a GOP mega-donor with no previous Postal Service experience -- more power over USPS operations ahead of November’s elections… when millions are expected to vote via mail-in ballot.
DeJoy’s shake-up could impede our ability to vote reliably by mail this fall. That’s why we’re calling on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to investigate these changes immediately >>
USPS offers crucial services for Americans nationwide -- including enabling millions to vote safely from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. But DeJoy keeps making drastic changes to the agency that could hinder its ability to reliably provide these services.
Last month, he implemented extreme new regulations that have slowed down mail delivery -- eliminating overtime, cutting extra trips, and forcing mail carriers to leave mail behind at distribution centers, if delivering it might extend their hours.
And now, by completely transforming USPS leadership overnight, DeJoy has given himself more control over USPS’ day-to-day operations -- and de-emphasized decades of institutional postal knowledge.
These changes are dangerous -- some are calling them “deliberate sabotage.” [1] And they’re sure to create chaos within USPS, which will especially harm rural communities, seniors, small businesses, and the millions of Americans who are planning to vote safely by mail this fall.
We can’t let that happen. If you believe we need a strong, reliable USPS -- tell Sen. Ron Johnson, chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, to immediately launch an investigation into DeJoy’s conduct.
With his mega-donor running the Postal Service (a rarity for an agency historically led by USPS career civil servants), Trump seems set on slowing the service to a crawl, while disorienting its leaders with major personnel changes -- as a part of his crusade against vote-by-mail.
It’s time for everyone who cares about the Postal Service to speak out. Our right to vote -- and our democracy -- depend on it.
Devon Nir, Digital Campaigner
and the team at Common Cause
1) https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/08/07/postal-service-investigation-dejoy/
