Trump Is Hobbling the Mail the Old-Fashioned Way
On the eve of a highly consequential presidential election, when millions of citizens are eager to protect their health by voting by mail, the United States Postal Service bears the burden of expediting a secure election free of partisan tampering. But the officials with power over the agency appear bent on doing exactly the opposite—that is, returning to an old tradition of politicizing the post.
President Donald Trump has denigrated as “,” and his administration has explored ways to —which the president has as disadvantageous to Republicans. In May, the Postal Service’s board of governors, whose members are appointed by the president, named as postmaster general the Trump ally Louis DeJoy, a North Carolina businessman and major Republican donor who lacks postal experience with the Postal Service. Mail after DeJoy ordered cuts in overtime costs, ostensibly to address the agency’s acute financial troubles. On Friday, he announced a reorganization plan that, as , “reassigned or displaced” 23 executives, including the top two who oversee day-to-day operations.
