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Dear Editor:
As chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, Senator Ron Johnson's opening statement [1] at the Aug. 21 hearing on the U.S. Postal Service contains several false or misleading claims.
Sen. Johnson stated: "The bipartisan Postal Board of Governors engaged a professional search firm that identified Louis Dejoy as an outstanding candidate with the necessary background and skill set to tackle the enormous challenges of the postal system."
This is false. Robert M. Duncan, chairman of the Postal Service's Board of Governors, has admitted [2] that Dejoy was not included in the list of 53 candidates provided by the search firm. Duncan himself added DeJoy to the list of candidates.
Sen. Johnson also claimed: "Notices that were sent before he was sworn in [3], meant to inform election officials to factor in normal postal capabilities in setting their ballot deadlines, are being used to as evidence of this conspiracy theory and a willing media is, once again, aptly playing along."
This is also false. Notices were sent out to states on May 29 [4] and
July 29, and it is the July 29 letter [5] that has been used to criticize Postmaster DeJoy. According to the USPS website [6], Louis DeJoy "began his tenure as Postmaster General in June."
In addition, Johnson asserted: "The bipartisan governors then unanimously, again let me repeat that, they unanimously approved his appointment as Postmaster General."
This is misleading. Mr. DeJoy was appointed in May [7]. The Los Angeles Times reports that Board of Governors' member David Williams resigned from the board in April because he objected to DeJoy's imminent appointment [8]. Williams was a Trump appointee [9]who had previously served as USPS Inspector General. According to Williams [10]: "I recently resigned as the vice chairman of the Postal Board of Governors when it became clear to me that the administration was politicizing the Postal Service."
Americans deserve facts. The reliability of the Post Office is essential to the integrity of the Nov. 3 election and to our democracy.
Terry Hansen
Hales Corners, WI