DeJoy is expected to face pointed questions from Democrats on the House Oversight Committee about the changes implemented since he took over atop the Postal Service in June, which Democrats charge have led to unacceptable delays and put at risk the Postal Service's handling of mail-in ballots in November.
DeJoy testified before the GOP-led Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Friday, where he was pressed by Democrats and Republican alike about delays in the mail that lawmakers have heard about across the country. But he's likely to face a far more hostile reception in the House, where 90 Democrats called for DeJoy's removal last week, including many committee members.
Following Friday's hearing, Democrats say they still need to hear more from DeJoy about why he isn't reversing cuts that have already been made, like the removal of mail sorting machine and blue Post Office boxes. DeJoy said Friday sorting machines that had been removed would not be returned because they were "not needed."
Democrats also want to know more about what role Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has played, who was briefed by the Board of Governors on DeJoy's appointment and negotiated a $10 billion loan that gave Treasury access to USPS contacts with major customers like Amazon.
"He didn't answer whether he had any discussions with Steve Mnuchin, who's handling the negotiations on most of the things in the White House," House Oversight Chair Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat, said on CNN's "Newsroom" Saturday. "I think we can pursue these questions further before the committee."
Maloney's committee released on Saturday an internal USPS slide presentation prepared for the Postmaster General last week that showed a significant reduction in service since the beginning of July -- after DeJoy took over.
DeJoy, a major Trump donor, on Friday blamed the delays on the Covid-19 pandemic, while acknowledging that changes he had made like reducing trips for mail trucks also had an impact on service. He vowed that the USPS was fully prepared to handle the millions of ballots likely to be mailed for the November 3 election.
"I want to assure this committee and the American public that the Postal Service is fully capable and committed to delivering the nation's election mail securely and on time," DeJoy told the Senate panel. "This sacred duty is my No. 1 priority between now and Election Day."
President Donald Trump has continued to rail on mail-in voting, falsely claiming that it will lead to significant fraud and will lead to a "rigged" election. DeJoy stated his support for mail-in voting at Friday's hearing, saying that the USPS "will deliver every ballot and process every ballot in time that it receives."
Republicans have accused Democrats of manufacturing a political crisis with the mail to help the party politically, arguing the Postal Service's fiscal woes are a long-running problem and DeJoy is trying to address them.
"Americans should not have to foot the bill for the Democrats' fabricated conspiracy theory about the Postal Service," Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement. "We all want to see an operational, efficient postal service that best serves Americans, but this bill doesn't deliver."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called lawmakers back to Washington for a rare Saturday session to approve the legislation that provided the Postal Service with a $25 billion boost, along with suspending the changes DeJoy has put in place.
The bill passed 257-150, with more than two dozen Republicans joining with Democrats in favor. The White House has issued a veto threat, and the measure is not expected to be taken up by the Republican-led Senate.
"It is also necessary for us to have this legislation because in my conversations with the postmaster general, which were most unsatisfactory, he said he had no intention of restoring the post office boxes that were removed, no intention of restoring the sorting machinery in the Postal Services and other infrastructure very essential to keeping the mail on time," Pelosi said at a news conference Saturday.
Democrats said following Friday's hearing they were unsatisfied with the answers they heard from DeJoy, and they planned to press him further. While DeJoy pledged he would hold off on making changes until after the election, Democrats have expressed skepticism.
"Frankly, no one really believes him," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York who announced on Sunday that a subcommittee on the USPS Board of Governors would investigate policy changes ahead of the election.
"What I saw was a lot of wiggle room by DeJoy," Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia, a senior Democrat on the Oversight panel, said on CNN's "Newsroom" of Friday's hearing.
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August 24, 2020 at 04:00PM
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DeJoy back in the hot seat testifying before House panel - CNN
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