I don’t know about everyone else but I have certainly been having some issues with the post office. I suspect we’ve all noticed that the mail has slowed down considerably since Louis DeJoy, Trump’s pick for Postmaster General, took over last year. First, there was the whole controversy about him ordering the removal of sorting machines and removing post offices drop boxes just prior to the election when the use of mail-in ballots was at an all time high. Fortunately, there was such an uproar by the public and scrutiny by Congress that a major disaster was avoided. However, the assault on the post office continues.
In case you are unaware, Louis DeJoy is a major Republican fund raiser and supporter of Donald Trump, which is how he got the job. He has no background at all with the postal service. And, in fact, there were serious concerns about conflicts of interest given DeJoy’s business connections in the logistics business. He was the CEO of New Breed Logistics from 1983 to 2014 and retired when that company was acquired by XPO Logistics. He served in a couple of different roles at XPO Logistics until 2018 and still retains about a $30 million stake in the company. Interestingly, both New Breed Logistics and its successor XPO Logistics were contractors to the United States Postal Service.
Now DeJoy has put out his 10-year plan for the postal service. “Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is calling for longer delivery times for some first-class mail, shorter hours for some post offices and more expensive postal rates — all part of a 10-year reorganization plan for the U.S. Postal Service he unveiled Tuesday.”1 However, the part of the plan that I personally find most interesting is the plan to switch from moving mail by airplanes to trucks. Among the cost-saving measures he announced is a plan to “modify” first class delivery services by shifting transportation “from unreliable air transportation to more reliable ground transportation.”2
If one looks at the XPO Logistics website, it is very clear that a major part of their business is trucking. You can even apply to be a driver for them on their website and they tout how fast they are growing.3 No doubt it is my cynicism that causes me to question the fact that our current Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, has a huge financial stake in a company that already has contracts with the USPS and he is now pushing a plan to push even more mail transportation to XPO Logistics and companies like it. The only thing this will do is slow mail delivery, enrich trucking companies like XPO Logistics and frustrate the hell out of the American public.
This is what happens when you put political cronies in positions for which they are unqualified and have a blatant conflict of interest. This is just another classic example of how Trump and his cronies view the US Government as road to line their own pockets as opposed to serving ‘we the people.’
Unfortunately, President Biden, cannot fire Louis DeJoy, as much as he would like to. The Postmaster General falls under the direction and authority of the USPS Board of Governors so they are the ones that have the power to fire DeJoy. Biden has nominated three people to that board and if they are confirmed by the Senate, they could, if they choose, fire DeJoy if he refuses to resign.
The deterioration in service is one thing that DeJoy should be held accountable for. However, in my mind, the more egregious part of this whole mess is this massive conflict of interest that continues unchecked. If DeJoy worked for a private company he would have been fired long ago. His continued presence in his position as Postmaster General is nothing short of a huge affront to every American taxpayer.
In addition to the blatant conflict of interests, if DeJoy is allowed to remain in this position and implement his 10-year plan, it will have an impact on the elections in years to come due to the slow down in moving first class mail such as mail-in ballots. This, coupled with the more than 250 laws percolating through Republican state legislatures to restrict future voting will change the political landscape of this country forever. It just boggles my mind how so many people in this country seem to either 1) not understand what is really going on with these blatant attacks on democracy or 2) just don’t care.
“The end of democracy and the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the hands of lending institutions and moneyed incorporations.”
— Thomas Jefferson