Democrats are continuing to mount public pressure over the leadership of Trump-era Postmaster General Louis DeJoy amid continuing, serious concerns about his basic competence. In a new tweet, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) pushed the prospect of removing DeJoy — something that the board of governors overseeing the Postal Service would have to do. It’s unfortunately not a step accessible to either the president or Congress.
“Here’s some good news: The Senate *finally* confirmed President Biden’s two picks for the Postal Service Board of Governors,” Schiff posted on Twitter Monday. “But here’s the even better news: They can finally fire Trump’s Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy. And roll back his most dangerous cuts.” The board responsible for bringing on — and firing — postmaster generals is now comprised of a majority made up of Biden picks. The two most recent of the president’s selections for the board were confirmed via unanimous consent in the Senate, with no apparent formal opposition recorded. It’s worth noting, though, that not all of Biden’s selections are Democrats — there is a legal prohibition on one political party holding more than five of the board’s seats.
There are now four Democrats, four Republicans, and one independent on the nine-member board overseeing the Postal Service. Three of the Democrats, one of the Republicans, and the independent were picked by Biden; the rest of the members (including one remaining Democrat) are Trump picks. DeJoy’s controversies have included the Postal Service’s choice under his leadership to go with replacing numerous vehicles with gas-powered — rather than electric — pieces of the delivery agency’s fleet. As previously reported here, state officials including New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) and California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) have sued the Postal Service and DeJoy over the agency’s plans to replace most of 165,000 delivery vehicles with gas-powered vehicles — a plan that the Postal Service, as led by DeJoy, launched without having first finalized the federally required review of the environmental impacts of the possibilities.
The Senate has confirmed Biden's USPS nominees.
So if they wanted to fire Louis DeJoy, now they could.
Just saying.
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) May 14, 2022
DeJoy previously faced calls for the end of his time as Postmaster General over the gas-powered replacements for so many service vehicles — Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) advocated for DeJoy’s exit in response to this issue. At this point, the Postal Service under DeJoy’s command has already made a significant down payment for the new, mostly gas-powered delivery vehicles. The lawsuit involving the New York Attorney General’s office over this issue was revealed in April — so it’s on the newer side, and there’s what seems to be a continued opportunity for court intervention to stop these gas-dependent replacement plans. There have been worries about DeJoy’s leadership of the Postal Service ever since declining on-time delivery rates coincided with the 2020 presidential election — as many Americans used mail-in ballots. (On-time delivery rates subsequently recovered.) DeJoy has also unveiled a 10-year plan for the Postal Service that includes slower targeted delivery rates for certain items.
Since the Senate just approved Biden's Postal Board nominees, today would be the perfect day to finally fire Louis DeJoy. Who's with me?
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) May 13, 2022
