Is it DeEnd for Postmaster General Louis DeJoy? Sure looks like itCST Editorial Boardon November 29, 2021 at 1:56 am

U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy might well get his walking papers thanks to what likely will be a new Biden-appointed majority on the postal service’s board of governors. | Getty file photo

President Biden seeks to replace two DeJoy loyalists on the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors, making it likely the Trump appointee will finally be sent packing.

Louis DeJoy — the arrogant and incompetent bust out of a U.S. postmaster general who’s been under perpetual fire for slowing down delivery of the nation’s mail — told a congressional hearing last February he had no intention of leaving his post.

“Get used to me,” he told lawmakers, and, by extension, the nation.

But after vowing not to leave, it now looks as if DeJoy is about to get pushed out.

President Joe Biden is seeking to replace two DeJoy loyalists on the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors. If confirmed, the switch would bring to five the total number of Biden-appointed governors on the nine-member board.

The majority would finally be enough to send DeJoy, who was appointed in May 2020 during Donald Trump’s presidency, packing for good.

Good riddance, finally, to a man whose lucrative shipping and logistics business was built in large part because of a big contract with the very agency — the Postal Service — he’s spent more than a year trying to wreck.

Biden ‘deeply troubled’ by DeJoy

According to the White House, the two latest Biden nominees to the postal board of governors are Daniel Tangherlini, who led the General Services Administration in the Obama administration, and Republican Derek Kan, a former deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Tangherlini would replace current board chairman Ron A. Bloom, whom Biden is declining to appoint to a second term. Bloom, a Democrat, supported DeJoy’s measures to neuter the agency.

Kan, a Republican, would take the seat held by postal governor John M. Barger, who is also a member of the GOP.

By law, a U.S. president lacks the direct power to replace a postmaster general. That duty falls to the board of governors. But White House press secretary Jen Psaki made it pretty clear what was happening.

“We are, of course, deeply troubled, continue to be deeply troubled — as many Americans are — by the earlier reporting on Postmaster General DeJoy’s potential financial conflicts of interest and take serious issues with the job he’s doing running the Postal Service,” Psaki said at a news conference.

“It’s up to the board to make a determination about leadership, but we have continued concerns about the postmaster general’s leadership.”

So do we. From virtually the start of his term, we have continued to point out serious questions about DeJoy’s competency and directives, from his wrong-headed decision to purposely delay mail delivery during the height of the pandemic to bolloxing up service in accord to Trump’s publicly stated desire to stifle mail-in balloting and improve his chances on Election Day.

To say nothing of the FBI looking into the political fundraising activities of his former business.

The impact of DeJoy’s decisions have been felt acutely in Chicago, which has had spotty mail delivery for years.

“A new board could give DeJoy the bum’s rush he deserves and get a once-proud institution back on its feet again,” we said in January.

The quicker both these goals happens, the better.

And good riddance

The likelihood of DeJoy getting the shove is high, but the downside of it all is that for all the damage done, he’ll leave office with more than a shoe print on the seat of his pants.

According to the Center for Public Integrity, DeJoy — amazingly, ironically — received a $75,000 performance bonus in fiscal year 2021.

He also received $56,000 in additional benefits, including membership in a pair of airline clubs, retirement counseling and financial planning services.

This was on top of his $305,681-a-year salary, which the Center for Public Integrity describes as the highest ever for a U.S. Postmaster General.

In addition to everything else, the finances here make us want DeJoy out as soon as possible. Biden’s new majority must then set about the task of overseeing the agency’s rebuilding.

First things first: A quick send-off for DeJoy.

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