No Christmas for USPS employees

 

Joe Biden is filling out his cabinet—but some of Trump’s worst appointees, like Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, may stick around unless Biden fires them.

And there’s plenty of reason to fire them. During the holiday rush, the U.S. Postal Service is gridlocked by millions of packages and letters that have piled up in warehouses—due to DeJoy’s smashing of postal sorting machines back in the summer in an attempt to undermine the election.¹ 

DeJoy and many other Trump cronies will keep undermining our government long after Trump is out of office—if Biden doesn’t act to remove them himself.

Over the summer, DeJoy mandated that mail sorting machines be dismantled, he stopped overtime for deliverers, and he ordered public mailboxes be removed. Trump admitted at the time that he was trying to make voting by mail more difficult.²

Demand Progress helped rally a massive public outcry that forced DeJoy to back down—but the damage was already done. Sorting machines that had been taken apart were not put back together, and the post office didn’t receive a badly needed influx of personnel.³

Now we’re seeing the results, as people around the country aren’t receiving mail for weeks at a time. And it’s not just Christmas packages. Prescriptions, bills, paychecks—all are not arriving.⁴ USPS employees are working double shifts, seven days a week, to try to make up for the shortfall.⁵ And if DeJoy keeps his job, the USPS may never improve.

It’s not just DeJoy trying to undermine a government that works for the people. Trump appointee Kathy Kraninger is trying to shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau while running it. Andrew Saul is helping Trump stymie Social Security benefits while he runs that agency.

There are dozens of far-right extremists who don’t automatically lose their jobs when Biden is inaugurated, but the new president might not want to fire them unless he knows he has the political backing to do so. We need to make it clear that the American people want a clean slate in the executive branch.

Thanks for standing with us.

Robert Cruickshank,
Demand Progress

Sources:

1. The Washington Post, "USPS ‘gridlocked’ as historic crush of holiday packages sparks delays," December 15, 2020
2. Associated Press, "Trump admits he’s blocking postal cash to stop mail-in votes," August 13, 2020
3. CNN, "Postal Service backs down on changes as at least 20 states sue over potential mail delays ahead of election," August 18, 2020
4. Fox 8, "Post office delays continue as some report no mail for weeks," December 16, 2020
5. The Washington Post, "USPS ‘gridlocked’ as historic crush of holiday packages sparks delays," December 15, 2020