The Boston Globe ripped Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in an editorial Thursday following his testimony on Capitol Hill, calling for his resignation and blaming him for a host of problems that have plagued the Postal Service in recent months.
The Globe’s editors pointed to operational changes pursued by DeJoy in an attempt at cost-cutting, describing the changes as responsible for delays in mail delivery around the nation.
The delays have been blamed for seniors not getting prescriptions on time and seen by critics as an attempt to aid President Trump’s efforts to dissuade Americans from mail-in voting this fall.
DeJoy in testimony to Congress said politics weren’t involved in the decisions and that the cost-cutting measures were aimed at helping a Postal Service drowning in red ink.
The Globe’s editorial board wrote that since DeJoy has taken over the post office, the agency has curtailed overtime pay, removed more than 600 mail sorting machines and either locked up or taken out letter collection boxes.
“These supposedly cost-saving measures have resulted in slowing down mail delivery, potentially disenfranchising voters at a massive scale come November if their mail-in ballots are not processed or delivered on time,” the editorial stated.
Pointing to statements made during his testimony, the Globe’s editors also accused DeJoy of hiding the extent of his changes from lawmakers charged with overseeing the agency.
“At his congressional testimony on Monday, DeJoy may well have lied under oath, stating that he did not put a limit on overtime pay. Various reports from news outlets as well as the postal workers union say otherwise. This is simply not the kind of leadership the Postal Service or the American people deserve,” the Globe continued.
“No matter the intent, what is clear is that DeJoy’s leadership is doing little more than unleashing chaos at the post office — and on American democracy too,” the editorial concluded.
DeJoy has faced withering criticism from Democrats on Capitol Hill in recent weeks due to his history as a donor to the Republican National Committee (RNC) and 2016 Trump campaign and reports from across the country of mail deliveries facing delays. He has since declared that the Postal Service will halt implementation of operational changes until after the November elections.
“After being confronted on Friday with first-hand reports of delays across the country, the Postmaster General finally acknowledged a ‘dip’ in service, but he has never publicly disclosed the full extent of the alarming nationwide delays caused by his actions and described in these new documents,” Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said ahead of his testimony last weekend.