The House Oversight Committee will be grilling Postmaster General Louis DeJoy Monday morning, after two weeks of damning information coming to light about the deliberate, political sabotage of the institution by the Trump administration. It also follows a Senate hearing that elicited little information beyond the refusal of DeJoy to restore the equipment and policies that made the post office run prior to his taking over leadership.
The House broke its August recess over the weekend to pass an emergency funding bill for the USPS, a bill Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to ignore. In addition to the $25 billion in funding, the legislation also directs the USPS board of governors to restore the service and policies that were in effect as of January 2020. There were 26 Republican defections on the bill, 26 Republicans who are in states where the mail disasters of delayed checks, delayed prescription drugs, and animals arriving dead are putting those Republicans’ reelection in jeopardy. Thus far vulnerable Senate Republicans haven't revolted, forcing McConnell to address the issue.
While all this was happening, it was becoming more and more clear that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is neck deep in the controversy. The New York Times reported over the weekend that Mnuchin made clear to the Board of Governors of the USPS that "he wanted the governors to find someone who would push through the kind of cost-cutting and price increases that President Trump had publicly called for and that Treasury had recommended in a December 2018 report as a way to stem years of multibillion-dollar losses."
That degree of interference from a White House is "unusual," the Times understates. The USPS is an independent agency which is supposed to be out of reach of political influence with a Postmaster General that is not appointed by the president. The leadership of the service, the governors, serves for seven-year terms and is responsible for choosing the Postmaster General. Unfortunately, that Board is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, and the current board has been gerrymandered by the machinations of McConnell, who blocked confirmation of nominations from President Barack Obama.
There were two Democratic governors serving on the board at the time of Mnuchin's interference, back in February. Neither of them were present in the meeting in which Mnuchin demanded that a Trumper be appointed. Because they weren't there, and a quorum wasn't present, "it was not subject to sunshine laws that apply to official board meetings and there is no formal Postal Service record or minutes of what was discussed." That was obviously by design. But, the Times reports, "In interviews, documents and congressional testimony, Mr. Mnuchin emerges as a key player in selecting the board members who hired the Trump megadonor now leading the Postal Service and in pushing the agenda that he has pursued."
Mnuchin's interest appears to be a result of Trump's long-standing hatred of the USPS and his current beef that it subsidizes Amazon, which he hates because he hates Jeff Bezos, the company's founder and CEO. Mnuchin was thus driven by Trump, apparently by his own beliefs that the private sector should be in charge of every public service, which brought Louis DeJoy to the fore. DeJoy has no experience in the USPS, the first time a Postal General has not been a USPS career employee. He does have financial interests in USPS competitors, UPS and FedEx.
Now the "cost-saving" and "efficiency" measures he's instituted—cutting overtime, limiting delivery trips, removing sorting machines, removing post collection boxes, mandating a rigid schedule—has created chaos for the millions of people who work at the USPS and the public. Particularly the rural public, older people, veterans, and small businesses, all of which rely on the USPS for critical aspects of daily life. That sabotage now puts into question a safe and fair election in November, something Trump appears to be counting on.
All of which means that the Democratic House cannot stop pushing on this issue. It can't have one vote and one hearing and consider the job done. Mnuchin has to be called before Congress to answer for his involvement in the sabotage and McConnell has to be put on unrelenting pressure to act.
