On Friday, DeJoy announced a hiring gap for leadership positions and a massive reorganization of top Postal Service leaders.
Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia, the congressional Democrat who chairs the commission overseeing the postal service, called the movements “sabotage.”
“Postmaster General DeJoy calls this a ‘customized organizational structure.’ It really is a Trojan Horse, “Connolly said on Twitter, sharing a Washington Post report on the changes. “Deliberate sabotage to restrict e-mail service on the eve of the election – an election that depends on postal ballots.”
This is the latest example of Trump’s paranoia about the political system affecting Americans in institutions. His constant attempt to emphasize the belief in the post-in vote coincides with the easy attempt of his political ally to reform the Postal Service. Add to that the attempt of his Treasury Secretary to exercise more control over the postal service. This is the game conspiracy theories are made of.
Democratic rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York, who chairs the government oversight committee, called for a halt to the changes.
“The drastic changes to the Postal Service by a publicly partisan Postmaster-General are another example of the president’s attempt to prevent millions of Americans from counting their votes,” she said in a statement on Saturday.
DeJoy said Friday at a meeting of the Postal Service Board of Governors that there would be no delay in mail related to the election.
“We will do everything we can to deliver election mail on time, in line with our operational standards,” he said, adding, “Despite all claims to the contrary, we will not delay election mail or any other mail. Instead, we will go through a robust process. and put in place proven evidence to ensure the proper handling of all election items. “
Trump has questioned whether the mail system could cause mail-in-vote caused by the pandemic and threatened efforts to expand mail-in-vote in places like Nevada, which he said “use Covid to steal the state” . “
Democratic leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Second Chamber member Nancy Pelosi, had what Schumer described as a “hot discussion” with DeJoy about the cuts.
The postal service needs money
The Postal Service has asked for $ 75 billion in emergency funds under its former director, who suggested it could be broken by September.
Now Democrats have agreed to put $ 25 billion into a new incentive bill. It has become a sticking point in stalemate negotiations for that bill, which would also expand extended unemployment benefits and include a new direct payment to people affected by the pandemic.
The Postal Service is an independent organization, but in order to gain access to the loan, it has agreed to provide information about its operations to the Trump administration, including handing over previously confidential agreements it has concluded with supply giants. like Amazon.
Trump has demanded that the Postal Service increase delivery costs on companies like Amazon, which was founded by Jeff Bezos, who also owns the Washington Post.
After the loan, Connolly and Maloney said the pandemic was being used to give the administration more control.
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