WASHINGTON (NewsNation Now) — President Joe Biden has sent three U.S. Postal Service board nominees to the Senate, a move that could reshape the agency at the forefront of political debate during the pandemic and the most recent election.
Biden gave the names of his USPS Board of Governors nominees to the chamber on Monday, as three terms are slated to expire in early December. The president first announced his appointees last month.
Biden’s picks include Anton Hajjar, the former general counsel of the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO, and Amber McReynolds, CEO of the National Vote at Home Institute, a nonprofit working to improve vote-by-mail systems across the U.S. Biden also named Ron Stroman, who recently served as deputy postmaster general and chief governmental relations officer for USPS.
The president is under pressure to reform the cash-strapped mail agency and diminish the influence of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
DeJoy took up the role last May – as political campaigns for the 2020 election kicked into gear – and made significant changes to the mail service. Citing costs, he reduced overtime and banned late and extra mail deliveries.
Then, as the election neared last fall, hundreds of mail sorting machines and collection boxes were taken out of circulation. DeJoy denied involvement in the decision.
Despite the issues, the Postal Service successfully delivered more than 130 million ballots to and from voters during the general election.
DeJoy and the board announced last month efforts to put together a 10-year plan that aims to “significantly improve service and enable the organization to compete more effectively for customers while achieving our congressionally mandated goal of long-term financial sustainability.”
By law, the Postmaster General is selected by the USPS Board of Governors, and only the board can remove him.
The board has four Republicans, two Democrats and three vacancies.