Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 01:44 pm
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has asked President Biden to demand the immediate resignation of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
Sen. Sanders said in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA:
Given the serious crisis and total failure of leadership at the United States Postal Service, I am urging President Biden to demand the immediate resignation of Louis DeJoy as Postmaster General.
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By any objective measure, Louis DeJoy, a top campaign contributor of Donald Trump, has been, by far and away, the worst Postmaster General in the modern history of America.
Since Mr. DeJoy was handpicked by President Trump to serve as Postmaster General in May of 2020, the quality of the Postal Service has been severely undermined. Tragically, the situation has only gotten worse since Mr. DeJoy began implementing his disastrous 10-year plan to substantially slow down mail delivery, cut back on post office hours, shut down mail processing plants, and dismantle mail sorting machines.
During the busy holiday season, this could not come at a worse time. Not only are millions of people in Vermont and throughout the country not getting their Christmas presents delivered on time, senior citizens have experienced massive delays in receiving the lifesaving prescription drugs they desperately need, and working families have been forced to pay late fees because it is taking much longer than normal for the Postal Service to mail their bills.
The President made the correct decision to begin mailing 500 million at-home COVID tests for any American who requests one. But, given the deterioration of the postal service under Mr. DeJoy, how can anyone have confidence that these life-saving tests will be delivered to the American people in a timely and efficient manner? I think the obvious answer to that question is they cannot.
Further, it has been well documented that Mr. DeJoy has over a dozen major conflicts of interest due to his financial interests in several companies that have ties to the Postal Service. This includes a $120 million contract that the Postal Service awarded to XPO Logistics in April to operate two sorting and distribution facilities in Atlanta and Washington, DC. Mr. DeJoy was the CEO of XPO’s supply chain business and still holds an investment of at least $30 million in this company.
The United States Postal Service is a vital part of our economy and our way of life. We need a Postmaster General who will strengthen and expand the Postal Service, not someone who continues to undermine and sabotage it.
It is long past time for Mr. DeJoy to go.
It Is Louis DeJoy Not The Supply Chain That Has Delayed The Arrival Of Christmas Presents
The primary reason for the late arrival of millions and millions of Christmas presents isn’t the supply chain, but the disastrous cuts in USPS capacity put in place by DeJoy.
Louis DeJoy’s goal is to kill the Postal Service so that Republicans can realize their decades-long dream of privatizing mail delivery.
The supply chain didn’t result in empty store shelves or panic buying as Republicans predicted.
The problem is that gifts are backed up in mail sorting facilities around the country and will not arrive in time for Christmas.
The USPS used to have the ability to rise to the occasion and handle the flood of holiday mail, but DeJoy has hobbled them, and his assault on the mail has got to end.
President Biden can’t make DeJoy resign, only the USPS Board of Governors can do that, but he can turn up the heat to pressure him to go.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
