I support voting by mail in November says Postmaster General in public split from Donald Trump - as USPS launches ad campaign saying it can handle EVERYONE getting a mail-in-ballot
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said it was his 'sacred duty' to deliver ballots as he testified Friday to Congress amid outrage over his policy changes that critics warn are endangering Americans and harming businesses.
As he spoke, the USPS started a public campaign, tweeting that it could cope and saying: 'If all Americans voted by mail, 330 million ballots over the course of the election would only be 75% of what we deliver every single day.'
DeJoy told lawmakers the Postal Service would deliver ballots 'securely and on time' in the November presidential election, but indicated he would pursue dramatic operational changes after that date.
He sought to assure Americans that widespread delays caused by cost-cutting measures would not cause their mail ballots to go uncounted in November. DeJoy suspended those service changes this week after facing public outrage.
And he said he supports voting by mail in a split from Donald Trump, to whom he was a major donor. Trump claims mail-in ballots will lead to fraud and a 'rigged' election whose results he has not promised to accept.
'I voted by mail for a number of years. The Postal Service will deliver every ballot and process every ballot in time that it receives,' he said.
Asked specifically by Ohio senator Rob Portman - a Republican - if he backed voting by mail, DeJoy said: 'I do. I think the American public should be able to vote by mail. And the Postal Service will, will, will support. So, I guess that's yes.'
'The American people should feel comfortable that the Postal Service will deliver on this election,' he told the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
DeJoy said the Postal Service is 'fully capable and committed to delivering the nation's election mail securely and on time'
The public campaign on Trump's preffered medium - possibly more than DeJoy's statement - puts the USPS on a collision course with the White House.
DeJoy told senators that election mail would be prioritized for delivery as in years past. But he said that blue curbside collection boxes and sorting equipment that have been removed are 'not needed.'
DeJoy distanced himself from President Donald Trump's complaints about mail-in ballots that are expected to surge in the coronavirus pandemic, but he told senators could not yet provide a detailed plan about how he will ensure on-time election mail delivery.
He declared that the Postal Service 'is fully capable and committed to delivering the nation´s election mail securely and on-time.' He said that was a 'sacred duty' and his 'No. 1 priority between now and Election Day.'
'I think the American people should be able to vote by mail,' DeJoy testified.
But Democrats were unmoved.
'The Postal Service has always delivered. But Mr. DeJoy, I don't think you have. You have not delivered in this brief tenure,' scolded Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
'In less than two months as Postmaster General, you have undermined one of our nations most trusted institutions,' he fumed.
He said new changes brought delays that have 'hurt people across the nation.'
Michigan Sen. Gary Peters (D) tore into DeJoy at the remote hearing
'Your decisions have cost Americans their health, their time, their livelihoods and their peace of mind,' Peters told him at the start of a remote hearing.
DeJoy told senators the plan to remove mail boxes predated his time at the agency, and said the USPS had plenty of capacity even with the sorting machines offline.
He denied mail was being slowed down, saying changes he had made would save up to $1 billion and improve delivery times.
'If you plan to continue pursuing these kinds of changes, I think my colleagues, and many of our constituents, will continue to question whether you are the right person to lead this indispensable public institution,' he said.
But Peters said he has received 7,500 reports of mail delays, including from a girl named Mary who couldn't get her epilepsy meds on time.
DeJoy in his remarks tried to shoot down Democratic howls that he was deliberately overseeing an effort to sabotage the mail amid President Trump's furious attacks on mail-in ballots.
'As we head into the election season, I want to assure this committee and the American public. The Postal Service is fully capable and committed to delivering the nation's election mail securely and on time. This sacred duty is my number one priority between now and election day,' he said.
DeJoy said there was 'no intention' to restore sorting machines that have been removed from service.
'They're not needed, sir,' he said.
Panel chair Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who is also overseeing a probe into the FBI during the Russia investigation, backed up DeJoy, who said he did not concoct any kind of deliberate plan to take mail sorting machines out of commission and remove mail boxes to impact the mail for the elections.
'I was made aware when everybody else was made aware,' said DeJoy, who only began his post this summer.
'So this isn't some devious plot on your part,' Johnson responded.
Johnson defended DeJoy, citing his 'commendable attempt to reduce those excess costs that are now being cynically used to create this false political narrative.'
Republican Sen. Rob Portman asked DeJoy point-blank whether he supported vote-by-mail – a practice President Trump has attacked. Trump says he backs absentee voting, but has railed against widespread efforts to send out ballots or ballot-request forms.
DeJoy said there has been a drop in mail volume, and that the removal of postal machines and mail boxes was put in place before the start of his tenure
Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin ran the hearing from what appeared to be his kitchen
'F***, f***, f***!' yelled Sen. Top Carper after he thought technical issues would cost him his turn at a high-profile hearing on the Postal Service
'I do,' DeJoy responded. 'I think the American public should be able to vote by mail and the Postal Service will support it, so I guess that's yes.'
During one colorful moment, Senator Tom Carper of Delaware suffered an on-camera hot mic meltdown over tech issues during the emote Senate hearing, yelling out in frustration when he thought his video feed was down.
Instead, his expletive-laden outburst was carried during live cable feeds of a closely watched hearing about the functioning of the postal service.
'F***, f***, f***!' Carper yelled, turning to the side it what looked like his congressional office after he thought he couldn't join the hearing.
'Sen. Carper, can you unmute?' Johnson told him. 'We don't want to be on TV again,' Johnson told him.
Lawmakers aggressively questioned DeJoy in his first appearance before Congress on Friday about recent cost-cutting measures that Democrats say appeared to be an attempt to boost President Donald Trump's re-election chances.
Under pressure from the public and lawmakers, DeJoy on Tuesday suspended all mail service changes until after the Nov. 3 election. Critics feared they would interfere with mail-in balloting, which is expected to be much more widely used amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump has repeatedly and without evidence said that an increase in mail-in ballots would lead to a surge in fraud, although Americans have long voted by mail.
The Republican chairman of the Senate committee holding Friday's hearing, Ron Johnson, will defend DeJoy in his opening statement, citing his 'commendable attempt to reduce those excess costs that are now being cynically used to create this false political narrative.'
Democrats will want to know whether DeJoy plans to undo changes to the mail made in recent weeks. Changes that threatened to slow mail delivery - and in some cases, already have - include reductions in overtime, restrictions on extra mail transportation trips, and new mail-sorting and delivery policies, enacted in an attempt to cut costs.
DeJoy, who has also agreed to testify before the Democratic-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Monday, will testify before the Republican-led Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Friday.
While criticism from Democrats is expected, any signs that Republican senators are unhappy with DeJoy's cost-cutting efforts could suggest his tenure as postmaster general is at risk. DeJoy, a major political donor and ally of Trump, assumed the job in June.
A group of 90 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday called on the Postal Service's board of governors to immediately remove DeJoy 'to protect this critical institution,' according to a letter sent to board members.
The House is set to vote on a bill on Saturday that would provide $25 billion in funding for the Postal Service and require the reversal of operational changes. (Reporting by Chris Sanders; Editing by Peter Cooney)
I support voting by mail in November says Postmaster General in public split from Donald Trump - as USPS launches ad campaign saying it can handle EVERYONE getting a mail-in-ballot
![I support voting by mail in November says Postmaster General in public split from Donald Trump - as USPS launches ad campaign saying it can handle EVERYONE getting a mail-in-ballot]()
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