Postal Service trucks aren’t the only thing getting a makeover. President Joe Biden is nominating a trio of Democrats to the USPS board of governors. If confirmed, these newcomers would give the board a left-leaning majority, with the power to oust notorious Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, whom a federal judge rebuked last year for turning the Postal Service into “a tool in partisan politics” with the purpose of “voter disenfranchisement.”<\/p>\n
Biden is nominating Ron Stroman, a former deputy postmaster general; Amber McReynolds, who leads the National Vote at Home Institute; and Anton Hajjar, who used to run the legal department for the postal workers’ union. Service on the nine-member board of governors requires Senate confirmation. These new board members would create a Democratic majority, and could begin to reverse the damage wrought by DeJoy, a longtime GOP megadonor.<\/p>\n
DeJoy, a veteran of private-sector logistics and shipping, has claimed he’s seeking to create efficiency at the Postal Service. But his tenure has been marked by scandalous mail delays and the removal of high-speed mail-sorting equipment, particularly in swing states in advance of the November election. In September, a federal judge wrote that “the Postal Service’s actions are not the result of any legitimate business concerns” and appeared instead “an intentional effort” in line with the Trump administration’s partisan goal “to disrupt and challenge the legitimacy of upcoming local, state, and federal elections.” DeJoy’s engineered delays indeed marred the 2020 election, likely disenfranchising tens of thousands of American voters, whose ballots were not delivered on time.<\/p>\n
The delays additionally disrupted the Postal Service’s Christmas deliveries, marring the holiday experience for millions of American families under lockdown. (Full disclosure, I received last week a properly addressed holiday card postmarked December 18th.)<\/p>\n
Biden has been pressured by dozens of Democratic lawmakers to refashion the USPS board specifically to oust DeJoy. In testimony on Wednesday before the House, the postmaster general was defiant. DeJoy told an oversight hearing that he expected to continue his term, telling lawmakers, “Get used to me.“<\/p>\n