This Christmas, Louis DeJoy Is A Few Months Away From Losing His Job

 

     A "Millionaire White Boys' Club." That's how Representative Cori Bush of Missouri accurately described the United States Postal Service Board of Governors back in 2019. This little-known board responsible for an agency so important that it was once a cabinet-level office first became a source of controversy back in 2006, when George W. Bush signed legislation that left the Post Office drowning in debt. Barack Obama appointed several members to this nine-person board but, after his loss of the Senate in 2014, was unable to get nominees for much of anything past Mitch McConnell. As a result, the board went a full five years unable to reach a quorum, or the minimum number of members needed to conduct business of any kind.

     Unfortunately, the man responsible for filling these vacancies was Donald Trump, and he filled it with rich white men who wanted to sabotage the board. Under the Bush legislation, the highest number of governors any political party could have on the board was five, which means Trump appointed some Democrats. He chose Democrats sympathetic to him and his most damaging appointee, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. To cut costs, DeJoy implemented mail service delays guaranteed not only to kill the Postal Service dead as services like Amazon offer one-day shipping, but also interfere with the presidential election of 2020, which relied heavily on tens of millions of mail-in ballots around the country.

     After an uproar, these changes were delayed until after the 2020 election. However, what became obvious was that DeJoy, currently under DOJ investigation for refusing to divest hundreds of thousands of dollars of investments in Postal Service COMPETITORS, is unfit to hold his position, which he smugly claimed he would do for "a long time."

     This Christmas, one present appears to be that it looks increasingly like Louis DeJoy's definition of "a long time" may be 18 to 24 months. President Biden appointed three nominees to the U.S.P.S. Board of Governors as soon as he took office. Among them were a Muslim Democrat named Anton Hajjar, a black Democrat named Ron Stroman who had served on the board for nearly a decade under Obama, and, most brilliantly, a female independent and VOTING RIGHTS ACTIVIST named Amber McReynolds. Appointing independents allows President Biden to appoint liberals while technically following the rules and not giving Democrats more than five members on the board. Biden also appointed Deputy Postmaster General Douglas Tulino, an independent who serves as second-in-command and, like DeJoy, has no term limit. 

     That isn't to say he hasn't appointed Republicans. He appointed one: Derek Kan, an Asian man, to replace John McLeod Barger, another Republican whose term is set to end. He also appointed Democrat Dan Tangherlini to replace Democratic Board Chairman Ron Bloom, a white multimillionaire who was the most important ally of Louis DeJoy on the Board of Governors. In 2022, Biden will have the chance to replace Donald L. Moak, a corporate Democrat, and William D. Zollars, a Republican, both of whom were appointed by Trump. If he can keep the Senate, Biden will also be able to replace Republican Board Vice Chairman Roman Martinez IV; a second term would allow him to replace Republican Robert M. Duncan. 

     Either way, if the Senate acts quickly, Democrats are a few months away from having an anti-DeJoy majority for the first time. This will allow the Board of Governors to finally fire Louis DeJoy and replace him with a man or a woman who respects America's elections and the Postal Service as an institution. Meanwhile, legislation called the USPS Fairness Act that would pull the Postal Service out of debt and speed up mail delivery is pending in Congress. Of all the crises Donald Trump created, it seems like the 2020-2022 Postal Service Crisis is another one President Biden is on track to end. May the U.S.P.S. Board of Governors be a "Millionaire White Boys' Club" no more!