Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, likely with little remaining time in his job, testified to a House Appropriations subcommittee that he needed more money to implement his plan to systemically slow the delivery of mail by the US Postal Service, the Washington Post reports.
Saying that the USPS needed to “recast that expectation of what it is that we’re able to do” to stem financial losses, DeJoy said that the new expectations should involve slower service and higher costs. DeJoy was questioned about his stated plan to stop using air transportation to ship first-class letters across the country.
“It does involve a service standard change,” DeJoy said of his plan. “We cannot go to California from New York in three days without going on planes, and we don’t own planes.”
Compared to other appearances before Congressional committees, DeJoy was downright polite to the House members. He repeated apologized for mail service delays and was cordial (for DeJoy) to the subcommittee. During an appearance before the House Oversight and Reform Committee three weeks ago, DeJoy smugly told the members they should “get used to me” because he was going to be there for awhile.
That interchange happened a day before President Joe Biden made three appointments to the Post Office Board of Governors, who get to decide if DeJoy keeps his job.