Ex-Postal Service board member testifies that Mnuchin tried to politicize agency

Former Vice President of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Directors and Inspector General Accused Treasury Secretary Steven MnuchinSteven Terner MnuchinSchumer asks for details on post-selection general selection process McConnell: First Chamber likely not to submit stand-alone postal service certificate On The Money: S&P closes new record high | Democrats push for vote on boost unemployment | IRS sends interest payments to 14 million taxpayers MORE of trying to politicize the independent agency during testimony before lawmakers on Thursday.

David Williams, a former postal inspector general for the postal service who was fired in April as vice chairman of the agency’s board, said he was stepping down because he felt the Treasury department was trying to traditional apolitical agency to create a “political tool.”

“I resigned from the board of directors because I was convinced that their independent role was marginalized and that representations regarding an independent postal service for the nation were no longer true,” Williams said during a forum held by the Congressional Progressive Caucus. .

“By statute, the treasury was made responsible for providing the postal service with a line of credit,” Williams said. “The Treasury used that responsibility to make demands that I believed the Postal Service would make a political tool, and end its long history as an apolitical public infrastructure.”

Williams said Mnuchin “recommended” that all GOP appointments to the Postal Service Board of Directors and the Postal Regulatory Commission “kiss the ring” before confirmation and keep tabs on employment agreements, price increases and volume discounts given to customers such as Amazon and UPS .

Williams, one of the council’s designated Democrat members, served on the board of directors for nearly two years until his dismissal, for which he was the office’s inspector general for 13 years.

Williams said an executive hiring firm was contracted to nominate a candidate for the post of postmaster general, but the GOP donor who eventually got the job, Louis DeJoyLouis DeJoySorting of the Postal Service Disaster Service Senators Open Investigation into Delays in Presentation via Postal Service DC Delegate Marks Impact of Postal Service Quagmire on Community MORE, was instead introduced late in the process by John Barger, another member of the Board of Directors of the Postal Service appointed by President TrumpDonald John TrumpThe Memo: Obama goes into battle, impoverishes Trump Harris’ duty to fight for the country’s ideals in accepting VP nomination. Pelosi paints Trump and McConnell as twin barriers to more progress.

Williams said DeJoy “did not strike me as a serious candidate” and that Barger helped him complete a number of sentences during the interview process.

Mnuchin said Thursday that neither he nor any other Treasury official played a role in recruiting DeJoy for the post of postmaster general, but asked that the Board of the Postal Service keep him ‘apprised’ during his search to fill the position.

He also said he regularly monitors financial information provided by the Postal Service in his role as chairman of the Federal Financing Bank (FFB), the sole lender for Postal Service. In addition, Mnuchin has chaired a task force to oversee the Post Office’s operations since 2018.

“Like any responsible creditor or guarantor, I take my responsibility seriously for sound taxpayer dollars that the FFB borrows and the US Treasury guarantees,” Mnuchin wrote in a letter to the Senate Minority Leader on Thursday. Charles SchumerChuck Schumer Democrats use convention to preach Trump challenges Biden compares relationship with Harris to one with Obama: We trust each other The Hill’s Convention Report: Democrats gather for day two of convention MORE (DN.Y.).

DeJoy is set to testify before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Friday and the Committee on House Oversight and Reform on Monday.

DeJoy, who became postmaster general in June, came under scrutiny for implementing a series of austerity measures at the Postal Service that have led to postal delays, including limiting overtime and removing machines for post-sorting of certain facilities.

The changes to the Postal Services’ actions came as Trump voted several times via e-mail, despite casting votes to vote absent in the Florida primary this year itself.

DeJoy returned the course earlier this week, saying further changes to the Postal Service operations would be lifted until after the election, in which many people are expected to vote by mail during the COVID-19 pandemic.

DeJoy said retail hours at post offices will not change, further mail processing equipment and collection boxes will not be removed, no mail processing facilities will be closed and that his agency will set up “stand-by resources” effective October 1 “to satisfy any unforeseen demand. ”

“To prevent even the appearance of any influence on election post, I suspend these initiatives until after the end of the election,” DeJoy said in his announcement.

But Democrats argue that DeJoy’s announcement did not go far enough in reversing changes already made. The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Saturday on legislation that would prevent the Postal Service from making any changes that result in reduced service delivery to its operations, which began in January and provide $ 25 billion for the agency.