Concerns surrounding Postmaster General Louis DeJoy continues to spark outrage across America, and now in the House Oversight Committee as well, as discrepancies are revealed to the public. As DeJoy sits in front of the committee once again, representatives diligently try to unveil what went wrong.
DeJoy has been under fire after the suspicious timing of his appointment as a Postmaster General just shortly after President Trump criticized the legitimacy of mail-in ballots. The changes implemented over the past two months have seemingly resulted in a slower pace for the U.S. Postal Service operations.
From the Senate session that unfolded last week Friday, to Monday’s testimony in the Democratic-led House hearing, however, he has repeatedly expressed how the delays were not his doing— and involved many other factors besides his role in the postal service.
“First, I did not direct the removal of blue collection boxes or the removal of mail processing equipment. Second, I did not direct a cut back on any of our post offices. And finally, I did not direct the elimination or any cutback in overtime,” said DeJoy in his opening statement this Monday.
“I did, however, suspend these practices to remove any misperceptions about our commitment to delivering the nation’s election mail. Any further assertions by the media or elected officials is furthering a false narrative to the American people,” he continued.
Representative Carolyn Maloney began the questioning with a document that showed the sharp declines in mail delivery since DeJoy was appointed. The document in question, titled “Service Performance Measurement,” revealed more specific information regarding the changes in performance in the U.S. Postal Service.
The document obtained specific statistics during DeJoy’s time as Postmaster General, which began earlier back in July. As stated in the document, first-class mail was down by 8.1%, marketing mail was down by 8.42%, and periodicals were down by 9.57%.
Representative Maloney pointed out these massive changes and how DeJoy continues to downplay the growing situation that goes beyond election season, but people’s access to medicine, important documents, and other resources.
But what raised even more concern was how this document should have been present during Friday’s hearing.
“We sent our letter two days after you received this briefing and this document. There is absolutely no excuse for concealing it and withholding this information from the committee or from your testimony before the Senate when you were asked questions about the information in the document. And unfortunately, this committee received it from someone else,” stated Maloney.
Despite the suspicion surrounding the delay of these vital documents, DeJoy continued to defend his point of how much of this situation is purely from miscommunication. He echoed this when Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton questioned him on whether he planned to limit overtime or not.
“I never put a limit on overtime,” Dejoy explicitly said in response to Norton’s concerns surrounding overtime nearing the election.
However, this statement was quickly contradicted when Norton presented another document titled “PMG Expectations and Plan.”
“Overtime will be eliminated. Again, we are paying too much in OT and it is not cost-effective and will soon be taken off the table. More to come on this,” read the statement which was revealed to be released by a postal manager.
This raised concerns and questions about how this statement was seemingly a complete oversight for DeJoy, putting him on the hotspot once again.
However, not everyone was as quick to believe that DeJoy’s changes in performance were intended to affect the upcoming election. Representative Gary Palmer pointed out the declines that were also present during President Obama’s term, stating that the committee didn’t seem too concerned at the time.
Palmer went on to say how the accusations against DeJoy have made his job more difficult and that he is simply making the correct changes for the postal service. Other representatives such as Representative James R. Comer agreed and even went as far as saying that Democrats were responsible for the spread of this “conspiracy theory.”
Sentiments regarding the efficiency of the Postal Service operations were expressed from both sides, with a multitude of opposing statements all around. Although DeJoy admitted that some of his changes may have caused delays due to the transition, he continues to stress his lack of involvement in derailing the 2020 election.
Regardless, DeJoy is expected to provide more documents in the upcoming hearings, and Democrats are expected to press DeJoy to prove that his policy changes may have had ill intentions.
