Postmaster General Louis DeJoy answered lawmakers' questions today during a House Oversight Committee hearing.
DeJoy — a Republican donor and Trump ally — has faced accusations that he is intentionally sabotaging Postal Service operations after he made service changes in the run up to the election.
Here are the top takeaways from today's hearing:
- On declining USPS service: In his testimony, DeJoy acknowledged that a "deterioration in service" had occurred following changes to mail trucks taking additional trips, but he said the USPS was already seeing a bounce-back. And he argued that other changes, like the removal of mail-processing machines, were already happening before he took over in June.
- On delivering ballots: DeJoy began his congressional testimony on Monday by affirming his commitment to “delivering the nation’s ballots securely and on time” this fall. "We will do everything we can to handle and deliver election mail in a manner consistent with the proven processes and procedures that we have relied responsible," he said.
- On the removed sorting machines: In a contentious back-and-forth with Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch, DeJoy said he will not replace sorting machines that had been removed from use. "No, I will not," DeJoy said when asked if he'd put the machines back.