Trump ally and Republican fundraiser named new head of the Postal Service
Louis DeJoy, a North Carolina businessman who has made large donations to President Trump and the Republican National Committee, will serve as the new postmaster general, the Postal Service's Board of Governors confirmed with The Washington Post on Wednesday.
This puts a Trump ally in charge of an agency that he has been criticizing for years. Trump has accused the Postal Service of not charging Amazon and other companies enough to deliver their packages, calling the agency "a joke" last month and saying it needs to quadruple its shipping prices. The Postal Service said it charges enough, and has to keep its prices competitive.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic and an ongoing decline in first class mail, the Postal Service is projecting a $13 billion revenue shortfall by the end of its fiscal year in September, the Post reports. The agency has said without assistance, it might not be able to make payroll or offer uninterrupted mail service past September.
As part of the coronavirus relief bill passed in March, the Postal Service can have access to a $10 billion line of credit, and the agency is negotiating over this now with the Treasury Department. Trump has indicated in order to tap this line of credit, the Postal Service must raise its fees, the Post reports.
The Postal Service has long been an apolitical agency, and DeJoy is the first postmaster general in two decades who did not rise up the ranks. DeJoy, who will start on June 15, is the Republican National Convention's finance chairman. Since 2016, he has given more than $2 million to Republican causes and the Trump campaign, Federal Election Commission records show.
The current postmaster general, Megan Brennan, announced her retirement last year, after clashing with the Trump administration over attempts to assert more control over the agency's finances and operations, the Post reports.
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