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As a chairman of the board of governors of the U.S. Postal Service from 1995 to 2005, Fineman is alarmed by what he sees as White House interference in the agency’s operations.
“The president of the United States is not supposed to run the Postal Service,” said the Philadelphia lawyer and Democrat. “The chief of staff is not supposed to have access to the postmaster general to tell him what he should and should not do.”
The coronavirus pandemic is forcing maybe to opt for mail-in ballots — an unprecedented amount for the Postal Service. Trump has repeatedly criticized voting by mail, alleging an increase in instances of voter fraud, though he has not cited evidence.
Fineman believes the claims from DeJoy and President Donald Trump — that on-time delivery of mail-in ballots for the November election isn’t possible — are outrageous, and they raise serious questions.
“Whether or not there is voter suppression, whether or not people have conspired to deprive people of the vote,” he pondered.
He’s also discouraged by the president’s disparaging remarks against the rank and file.
Fineman said the Postal Service needs a pandemic bailout, a congressional probe into serious allegations of election tampering, and legislation to rescind a 2006 law, which requires it to pre-fund pension obligations for the next 75 years.
DeJoy is expected to testify before the Republican-led Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Friday, where he will publicly address accusations that the Trump administration is purposefully handicapping the USPS in an effort to hinder mail-in voting during the pandemic.
DeJoy acknowledged to USPS employees this week that the cost-cutting measures have had “unintended consequences,” but defended them as necessary.
Democrats have claimed that DeJoy, who has been an ally of Trump and a Republican donor, is intentionally undermining Postal Service operations to sabotage mail-in voting in the November election — a charge DeJoy denies.
The Postal Service’s internal watchdog is also reviewing DeJoy’s recently imposed policy changes, and his compliance with federal ethics rules.
With the presidential election just a few months away, Fineman pointed to the Postal Service’s delivery record during the busy holiday season in December.
“This is complete nonsense,” he said. “If the Postal Service can deliver those packages and that mail during that period of time, they can certainly deliver ballots that need to be counted.”