On August 24, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy faced tough questioning from the House Oversight Committee. DeJoy has come under fire in recent weeks for cost-cutting measures, such as the removal of hundreds of mail sorting machines, that are causing postal delays. Lawmakers scrutinized the postmaster general, questioning the Postal Service’s ability to handle election mail.
In his testimony, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy defended the Postal Service, stating that the agency is “fully capable” of delivering ballots.
Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) summarized the Postal Service’s 250-year history, asking DeJoy “How can one person screw this up in just a few weeks?”
While questioning DeJoy, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortex (D-NY) highlighted the postmaster general’s conflicts of interest. When pressed by Ocasio-Cortez to commit to releasing his calendar to the committee, DeJoy was initially resistant. “The details of the calendar are extraordinarily important to the committee’s investigations,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “If we cannot receive them voluntarily, I would recommend consideration of a subpoena of these details.”
DeJoy was then unable to answer a series of questions from Rep. Katie Portner (D-CA) about the agency that he heads. DeJoy did not know the cost to mail a postcard and he was unable to say how many Americans had voted by mail in 2016.
