Louis DeJoy | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2020 | |
| 75th United States Postmaster General | |
| Assumed office June 16, 2020 | |
| President | |
| Deputy | Douglas Tulino |
| Preceded by | Megan Brennan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1956/57[citation needed] New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Aldona Wos |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Stetson University (BBA) |
| Signature |  |
Louis DeJoy (born 1956/57[citation needed]) is an American businessman serving as the 75th U.S. postmaster general. He was appointed in May 2020 by the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Prior to the appointment, he was the founder and CEO of the logistics and freight company New Breed Logistics and was a major Republican Party donor and fundraiser for Donald Trump.[1] DeJoy is the first postmaster general since 1992 without any previous experience in the USPS.[2] His companies still hold active service contracts with the USPS, generating controversy over conflict of interest.[3]
DeJoy was criticized for cost-reduction policies enacted after assuming office in June 2020, including eliminating overtime, and banning late or additional trips to deliver mail. The Postal Service also continued responding to long-term declines in first class mail volume with ongoing decommissioning of hundreds of high-speed mail-sorting machines and removal of the lower-volume mail collection boxes from streets. These practices were also criticized as mail delivery became delayed. The changes took place during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election, raising fears that the changes would interfere with voters who used mail-in voting to cast their ballots, possibly intentionally. Congressional committees and the USPS inspector general investigated. In August of that year, amid public pressure, DeJoy said that the changes would be suspended until after the election,[4] and in October the USPS agreed to reverse all of them.[5]
In March 2021, DeJoy issued a 10-year plan called "Delivering for America" to stabilize the finances of the Postal Service by slowing first class mail delivery, optimizing transportation networks, cutting post office hours, and raising prices. The plan assumed Congress would relieve the USPS of the requirement to pre-pay retiree health care costs, which with DeJoy's urging it did with the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022.
DeJoy attracted criticism and lawsuits from environmentalists and Democratic governments when he decided to purchase 90% gasoline-powered delivery vehicles in 2022, which he justified in part by the agency's financial situation. After additional federal funding was provided by the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 and Inflation Reduction Act, DeJoy revised these plans twice; the final version orders 83% electric vehicles through 2028 and 100% electric thereafter.
- ^ "DeJoy donated nearly $700,000 to Trump's convention, new filings show". CNN NEWS. October 10, 2020. Archived from the original on April 24, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Embattled postal leader is Trump donor with deep GOP ties". AP NEWS. August 20, 2020. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
- ^ Cochrane, Emily; Fuchs, Hailey; Vogel, Kenneth P.; Silver-Greenberg, Jessica (August 18, 2020). "Postal Service Suspends Changes After Outcry Over Delivery Slowdown (Published 2020)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 16, 2023.
- ^ "U.S. Postal Service agrees to reverse service changes as election looms". Los Angeles Times. October 15, 2020. Archived from the original on September 8, 2022. Retrieved September 8, 2022.