A pair of House Democrats are raising questions regarding whether or not a member of the U.S. Postal Service board of governors skirted typical methods to affect the hiring of Louis DeJoy as postmaster general.
Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., and Katie Porter, D-Calif., sent a letter to USPS board member John Barger increasing questions about his role in recommending DeJoy for the place, as demonstrated by a copy of the letter obtained by NPR. The letter cites reports that DeJoy was not included in a pool of candidates cultivated and vetted through an external hiring firm contracted to fill out the occupation.
"According to people knowledgeable about the procedure, Mr. Louis DeJoy was never recommended by this firm but was rather introduced by you to the selection committee," the letter reads. "It would have been intermittent for a part of the USPS Board of Governors, such as yourself, to urge Mr. DeJoy with no consultation, research, or service of their contracted hiring firm Russell Reynolds Associates."
The letter comes amid controversy over measures DeJoy has chosen to change Postal Service processing, facilities and staffing. Those modifications have slowed mail delivery and caused concerns about the agency's ability to process a spike in mail-in-ballots ahead of the November election.
In comments last week, President Trump appeared to tie USPS funds to his hope of hampering mail-in voting expansions nationally, increasing concerns that DeJoy's changes to the Postal Service may be politically inspired.
Before this week, amid bipartisan criticism and a set of suits, DeJoy announced he would halt some of his cost-cutting efforts, although it's not clear whether he'd restore service to previous levels.
DeJoy is defined to testify Friday before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs and Monday before the House Oversight Committee.
Democrats have questioned DeJoy's qualifications to the job and accused the postmaster general of intentionally delaying mail to disenfranchise voters. DeJoy was a major donor and fundraiser for Trump and the Republican National Committee. DeJoy's spouse, Aldona Wos, was nominated to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to Canada.
"The appointment of Mr. Louis DeJoy as Postmaster General was highly intermittent and we are worried that his candidacy might have been influenced by political motives," Krishnamoorthi stated in a statement. "We need to get to the bottom of why Mr. DeJoy was considered, given that he apparently was not one of the candidates recommended from the company contracted to make such recommendations, and didn't undergo a background check."
Porter stated,"It is apparent that Louis DeJoy isn't capable to function as Postmaster General. He is one of the few in history, if not the sole in history, who did not come up throughout the Postal Service. So I want to know why he was chosen for this role, and when this was a political choice, rather than one."
From the letter sent Thursday, Krishnamoorthi and Porter request Barger to describe whether he recommended DeJoy without the research conducted on additional candidates to the job. They also ask Barger if he discussed DeJoy with almost any Republican Party officials.
Trump appointed Barger into the USPS board of governors at 2019. He's the managing director of NorthernCross Partners, a Los Angeles-based private investment firm, and a frequent contributor to Republican candidates.
Barger didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
Democrats began raising questions following multiple individuals shared concerns that the external firm, Russell Reynolds Associates, along with its own history process were circumvented for DeJoy, according to a Democratic aide. The bureau was hired to discover candidates and vet their backgrounds, including any possible conflicts of interest.
The correspondence goes on say that David Williams, a former USPS inspector general and USPS board member, told Democratic team he expressed worries about DeJoy through the interview process and asked a background investigation. Williams resigned from the board on April 30, less than a week before DeJoy's appointment.
Williams told committee staff that he mentioned the background check battle as part of his decision to leave.
"I had voiced concerns after each of those interviews with Mr. Louis DeJoy," Williams stated. "I urged a background investigation be conducted. And when I resigned, I cited it as one of my reasons for submitting my resignation to Chairman Robert Duncan."