Facing grilling amid uproar, postmaster general insists election mail will be delivered 'on time'

Louis DeJoy testified for the first time since controversy erupted.

August 21, 2020, 12:11 PM

Facing lawmakers on Friday for the first time as head of the U.S. Postal Service, embattled Postmaster General Louis DeJoy strongly disputed allegations that he’s making changes to the agency's operations to help boost President Donald Trump’s reelection in November, calling such claims “outrageous.”

Instead, DeJoy, a former logistics executive and longtime Republican financier, framed the changes as necessary to reverse years of significant financial losses incurred by a continuing drop in mail volume.

While he refused to undo cost-saving measures that have already been implemented as Democrats have demanded, DeJoy vowed that the Postal Service is “fully capable” of “securely” handling millions of ballots and delivering them on time, as pandemic-wary voters look for a safer way to pick their next president.

The internal changes at the heart of DeJoy's testimony coincided weeks earlier with a full-on attack on "mail-in voting" from President Donald Trump, sparking the allegations of improper political influence.

DeJoy’s testimony on Friday came on the eve of a House vote Saturday to provide billions of dollars in additional funding to the Postal Service and to block certain changes at the agency.

PHOTO: An elections worker sorts unopened ballots at the King County Elections headquarters on Aug. 4, 2020, in Renton, Wash.
An elections worker sorts unopened ballots at the King County Elections headquarters on Aug. 4, 2020, in Renton, Wash.
David Ryder/Getty Images

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