By Fabiha Faruque

Postmaster General Louis Dejoy testified in a virtual Senate hearing on Friday about changes he made in the US Postal Services during a COVID-19 pandemic and shortly a few months before the election. His testimony is the first public comment he made since the alternations he made to the USPS earlier back in June dismantling hundreds of mail-sorting machines across the country.

Known to be a long term Republican megadonor, Democrats initially accused DeJoy of working alongside President Trump to delay the election results; although, this was equally a bipartisan concern between the two parties. Despite the history of Political operative, however, his remarks sorely contradicted the President after verbalizing tremendous support for voting by mail, and even defending the USPS leadership in handling the nation’s election mail promptly and securely. 

“As we head into the election season, I want to assure this committee and the American public that the Postal Service is fully capable and committed to delivering the nation’s election mail securely and on time,” said DeJoy. “This sacred duty is my number one priority between now and election day.”

Denying any discussions with Trump and the Trump campaign before taking apart the mailing system, the Postal Chief claimed that the pretense of any political motivation in his course of action is far-fetched — and outrageous at most. He had defended his changes in the Postal Services amid the live session, downplaying the impact of alterations, and meticulously reassuring the Senate adherents of any complications to mail-in ballots on election season.

“I was greatly concerned about all the political noise that we were hearing. And I’ve had weekly reviews on this since before all the excitement came out. We are very committed. The board’s committed, the postal workers committed, the union leadership is committed to having a successful election. And the insinuation is quite frankly, outrageous,” DeJoy said when Sen. Peter inquired about possible political intent.

Even so, all reforms made to longstanding systems are bound to come across stumbling blocks. DeJoy acknowledged that the newly made operations that he had set into place, one being the limitations in specific travel routes, indeed led to mail delays. He denoted a majority of the postponements in delivery and services to come off due to COVID-19 restrictions that are slowing down operations in postal offices.

As someone who had voted by mail for years, DeJoy publicized solid remarks saying that the USPS plays a critical role in delivering posts from voters across the country and strongly prioritize the proper delivery of ballots right now and up until the election. He issued a statement earlier during the week announcing a suspension in the Postal Service changes until after the election — which is on the date of November 3rd. 

“It was just more detailed and more emphasis put on it, partly because of the expected rise in vote by mail and also the pandemic. And what the team set out to do is make the election boards and then eventually American public … what our processes were,” DeJoy said.

However, the General made it clear that he does not plan to reinstall the mail-sorting machines. When asked by Sen. Gary Peter D-Mich. Whether or not the 671 machines that he had ordered the removal of will be brought back, DeJoy said there is no intention to do so; they are no longer needed since mail volume not only shrank rapidly during the COVID crisis, but machines also ran at about 35% utilization. USPS headquarters had even issued an email to postal managers ordering them not to plug in the mail-sorting machines.

Still skeptical albeit dubious, Democrats in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee signed a letter demanding that DeJoy provide Congress with regional service performance data he used to make his changes to the USPS operations. In doing so, they had hoped to get answers on the impact mail delays will have on every person in the country — such as causing seniors and veterans to miss their prescriptions and medications.

“We understand you have committed to being more forthcoming and transparent with Congress and the American people regarding these changes, including providing documentation of the operational changes you have made and will be making since beginning your term. For every American who relies on the Postal Service, we call on you to fulfill that commitment without delay,” they wrote.

As the meeting came to an adjourn, DeJoy sought to clarify his fresh intent toward the election. Yet, there were some relatable moments to consider during the Senate hearing: technical difficulties at its finest.  

Sen. Tom Carper, a passionate speaker of the USPS, had issues unmuting the mic when his time came to converse with the Postal Chief in question. Though, at some point, he seemed to be unaware that his mic was unmuted, as the Senator can be seen turning away from his computer and yelling the “F-bomb” three times consecutively, which aired uncensored on C-SPAN.

Nonetheless, DeJoy will face Congress again on Monday. But this time, the team will be a Democratic House-led Committee, and the environment is expected to be more hostile in the face of fierce questioning.