Donald Trump is on a mission to hobble the post office just weeks before the 2020 election out of fear of massive voter turnout, which is never a positive for Republicans, via mail-in ballots. A new postmaster general appointed by Trump should be more than willing to help him on this mission considering that he has a significant financial interest in doing so.
Trump's Postmaster General continues to hold a multimillion-dollar stake in his former company — a Postal Service contractor — likely creating a major conflict of interest, according to newly obtained financial disclosures and ethics experts. https://t.co/jROxDDSMKw
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 13, 2020
Trump’s choice for postmaster general already came under scrutiny since he donated millions to the Trump campaign in 2016. Recently, attempts to slow down the post office’s systems, and by extension the mail itself, have brought even more scrutiny to Louis DeJoy, another wealthy CEO chosen by Donald Trump. Now, a conflict of interest has come to light that brings even more scrutiny.
According to CNN:
‘Postmaster General Louis DeJoy continues to hold a multimillion-dollar stake in his former company XPO Logistics, a United States Postal Service contractor, likely creating a major conflict of interest, according to newly obtained financial disclosures and ethics experts.
‘Outside experts who spoke to CNN were shocked that ethics officials at the postal service approved this arrangement, which allows DeJoy to keep at least $30 million in XPO holdings.’
Louis DeJoy and #TrumpKillsUSPS together because DeJoy has ~75 million in assets with all of USPS’s competition: XPO, UPS, DHL and JB Hunt #TrumpKillsUSPS because he’s SCARED. @realDonaldTrump is going to LOSE like no ONE HAS evEr seen A persin womun manncameraTV lose before! 🤡 pic.twitter.com/oUkpeGB6Ak
— steneirøs (@steneiros) August 13, 2020
Presidential appointees are heavily vetted and are required to give up financial interests that may bias them in decisions made in the offices to which they’ve been appointed. Trump’s appointees, however, as well as Trump himself, have neglected to do so despite ethics rules around the practice.
‘Raising further alarms, on the same day in June that DeJoy divested large amounts of Amazon shares, he purchased stock options giving him the right to buy new shares of Amazon at a price much lower than their current market price, according to the disclosures.
‘This could lead to a separate conflict, given President Donald Trump’s disdain for Amazon, and his reported effort in 2018 to pressure DeJoy’s predecessor to raise prices on Amazon and other firms, while complaining about its founder Jeff Bezos. The Treasury Department also recently struck a loan deal with USPS that gives the Trump administration more leverage to push for higher shipping prices — one of his pet projects.’
It's personal
DeJoy and his wife Aldona Wos, the ambassador-nominee to Canada, have between $30.1 million and $75.3 million in assets in Postal Service competitors or contractors. XPO Logistics represents the vast majority of those holdings https://t.co/iPaZeeK6Nq
— 🍿Justice is Served (@pleasesaveour) August 7, 2020
While a conflict of interest violation can be raised in many instances, owning stock in a competitor to the organization you’re heading is a very blatant one. Both Trump and DeJoy will benefit in myriad ways by slowing down or even shuttering the U.S. Postal Service completely.
‘Before joining the administration, DeJoy, a Trump ally and fundraiser, was on the board of directors at XPO Logistics, a large transportation and logistics company that does business with the USPS and has contracts with other US government agencies, such as the Department of Defense. In 2014, XPO acquired DeJoy’s company, New Breed Logistics, for $615 million.
‘These questions about DeJoy come at a time of incredible strain at USPS. The agency is already strapped for cash and facing funding shortages. And two members of the board of governors quit earlier this year, at least in part to protest efforts by Trump aides to control USPS finances and operations. DeJoy’s supporters say he’s the right person for the job because he can streamline the struggling agency with his business expertise.’
“Outside experts who spoke to CNN were shocked that ethics officials at the postal service approved this arrangement, which allows DeJoy to keep at least $30 million in XPO holdings,” said the report. https://t.co/sEzE3ZMDoL
— William Donelson (@donelson52) August 13, 2020
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
