Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is set to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Friday, amid a controversy over proposed reforms to the U.S. Postal Service just months before a presidential election expected to involve more mail than usual.
DeJoy, a President Donald Trump ally and donor, was named postmaster general in June this year. He has enacted a number of changes to the Postal Service, including cost-cutting measures that have led to a slowdown in mail deliveries that have alarmed officials bracing for the November election.
Amid outrage from Democrats in Congress — and some Republicans — and fears the service was being targeted by the Trump administration as Americans look to vote during a raging pandemic, DeJoy said he would suspend the reforms he implemented to the struggling Postal Service, and agreed to testify before the Senate committee.
“I recognize that it has become impossible to separate the necessary long-term reform efforts we will need to undertake from the broader political environment surrounding the election,” DeJoy will tell senators, according to the New York Times. “And I do not want to pursue any immediate efforts that might be utilized to tarnish the Postal Service brand, particularly as it relates to our role in the democratic process.”
Watch live above. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
