No joy for US post official Louis DeJoy, who denies trying to thwart voting by mail
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Washington — US postmaster-general Louis DeJoy said there’s been no attempt by President Donald Trump or his administration to interfere with Postal Service operations to thwart voting by mail, as he defended his management of the agency.
DeJoy called allegations that cutbacks at the post office are aimed at having an effect on the November election an “outrageous claim”. He said he’s voted by mail for years and that everyone should be able to do so.
“The American people can feel comfortable that the postal service will deliver on this election,” DeJoy said Friday at a Senate homeland security committee hearing.
The postal service is at the centre of political clash between Democrats and Trump over voting and the integrity of the November election. Trump, who is trailing Democratic candidate Joe Biden in pre-election polls, has repeatedly decried the increase in voting by mail and claimed, without evidence, that it’s ripe for fraud.
Democrats have questioned whether recent slowdowns and cutbacks at the post office may be part of an effort to suppress voting. Former Postal Service Board of Governors vice-chair David Williams said at an informal hearing organised by progressive Democrats on Thursday that Trump sought to turn the postal service into a “political tool”. He said that effort was being led by treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Under questioning from Democrats on the panel, DeJoy said he never discussed post office operations with Trump or specific policy changes with Mnuchin.
“I can imagine how frustrating it is to be accused of political motives in your management responsibilities,” Utah GOP senator Mitt Romney said.
But Romney added that, “Any surprise at such concerns has to be tempered by the fact that the president has made repeated claims that mail-in voting will be fraudulent and that he doesn’t want to get more money to the post office because without more money you can’t have universal mail-in voting.”
Republicans as well as Democrats raised complaints they’ve heard about delayed mail deliveries.
“I am concerned about the delays we’ve seen in Ohio and other places,” Ohio Republican senator Rob Portman said, telling the story of a Vietnam veteran with a lung disease who didn’t receive an inhaler on time.
The postal service has decommissioned sorting machines and removed some mailboxes as part of broader cutbacks. In addition, the post office has warned 46 states that it couldn’t guarantee that ballots mailed before election ...
DeJoy called allegations that cutbacks at the post office are aimed at having an effect on the November election an “outrageous claim”. He said he’s voted by mail for years and that everyone should be able to do so.
“The American people can feel comfortable that the postal service will deliver on this election,” DeJoy said Friday at a Senate homeland security committee hearing.
The postal service is at the centre of political clash between Democrats and Trump over voting and the integrity of the November election. Trump, who is trailing Democratic candidate Joe Biden in pre-election polls, has repeatedly decried the increase in voting by mail and claimed, without evidence, that it’s ripe for fraud.
Democrats have questioned whether recent slowdowns and cutbacks at the post office may be part of an effort to suppress voting. Former Postal Service Board of Governors vice-chair David Williams said at an informal hearing organised by progressive Democrats on Thursday that Trump sought to turn the postal service into a “political tool”. He said that effort was being led by treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Under questioning from Democrats on the panel, DeJoy said he never discussed post office operations with Trump or specific policy changes with Mnuchin.
“I can imagine how frustrating it is to be accused of political motives in your management responsibilities,” Utah GOP senator Mitt Romney said.
But Romney added that, “Any surprise at such concerns has to be tempered by the fact that the president has made repeated claims that mail-in voting will be fraudulent and that he doesn’t want to get more money to the post office because without more money you can’t have universal mail-in voting.”
Republicans as well as Democrats raised complaints they’ve heard about delayed mail deliveries.
“I am concerned about the delays we’ve seen in Ohio and other places,” Ohio Republican senator Rob Portman said, telling the story of a Vietnam veteran with a lung disease who didn’t receive an inhaler on time.
The postal service has decommissioned sorting machines and removed some mailboxes as part of broader cutbacks. In addition, the post office has warned 46 states that it couldn’t guarantee that ballots mailed before election ...
