A major donor to President Donald Trump will become the next head of the U.S. Postal Service, an institution that has frequently come under criticism from the president amid one of its worst financial crises.
Louis DeJoy, a North Carolina businessman, will take over as postmaster general on June 15, according to a news release. He will replace Megan Brennan, whose intention to retire was reported by The Washington Post in October. Brennan had been subject to months of complaints from Trump that the Postal Service was losing too much money, The Post reported at the time.
Trump has repeatedly characterized the Postal Service as hemorrhaging money, demanding that it charge delivery behemoths such as Amazon more. Last month, Trump called the Postal Service a “joke” as it suffers major losses amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Postal Service requested up to $75 million in federal assistance to keep operating, and though the Trump administration has signaled that it is willing to help, the president has continued to accuse it of being too cozy with Amazon.
“The post office, if they raised the price of a package by approximately four times, it would be a whole new ballgame,” Trump said during the signing ceremony for a coronavirus relief package last month. “But they don’t want to raise it because they don’t want to insult Amazon, and they don’t want to insult other companies, perhaps, that they like. The post office should raise the price of the packages to the companies. Not to the people, to the companies. If they did that, it would be a whole different story.”
The Postal Service is an independent agency enumerated in the Constitution. The Government Accountability Office had already found last year that USPS‘s financial health was “deteriorating and unsustainable“ because of the decline in first-class mail and rising expenses to cover growing compensation and benefits for workers.
DeJoy has been a substantial donor to Trump and Republican causes since the 2016 election. His wife, Aldona Wos, served as ambassador to Estonia under President George W. Bush and was nominated to serve as Trump’s next ambassador to Canada.
DeJoy previously worked in the private sector, and is the former chief executive of XPO Logistics’ supply chain business in the Americas and has collaborated with the Postal Service during his career, according to a news release. The Post first reported DeJoy’s new appointment.
“Having worked closely with the Postal Service for many years, I have a great appreciation for this institution and the dedicated workers who faithfully execute its mission,” DeJoy said in a news release. “I look forward to working with the supporters of the Postal Service in Congress and the Administration to ensure the Postal Service remains an integral part of the United States government.”
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) — chairman of the House Government Operations Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over the Postal Service — expressed dismay at the appointment on Wednesday evening.
“President Trump rewards a partisan donor by installing him at the United States Postal Service,” he said in a statement. “The Postal Service is in crisis and needs real leadership and someone with knowledge of the issues. This crony doesn’t cut it.”
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May 07, 2020 at 09:12AM
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Trump donor named next postmaster general - POLITICO
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