Joe Sonka | Louisville Courier Journal
Rep. James Comer, center, of Kentucky is the ranking Republican on the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform. J. Scott Applewhite, AP
Two Republican congressmen from Kentucky defended new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy during a Capitol Hill committee hearing on Monday, accusing Democrats of pushing a “conspiracy theory” that cost-cutting measures could delay mail services and impact the November election.
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the ranking Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, called Democrats’ grilling of DeJoy in the hearing a “political stunt” and “hysterical frenzy.”
Committee member Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said past measures by the administration of former President Barack Obama did not received the same level of scrutiny.
DeJoy, a major Republican donor, was appointed June 15 by the U.S. Postal Services’ board of governors, chaired by Michael Duncan — an Inez, Kentucky, banker and longtime backer of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and several high-profile Republican super PACs. Duncan also testified to the committee, though DeJoy took a large majority of the questions.
The hearing came just two days after the House passed a bill appropriating $25 billion to the USPS, with all Democrats voting for it, along with 26 Republicans.
Democrats released an internal USPS document Saturday showing significant delays to mail delivery in July, when officials instituted new changes cutting overtime for mail carriers and removing blue mailboxes and over 600 mail-sorting machines.
DeJoy told House members Monday that some of these reforms would be on hold until after the election, denying any political motivations or orders by Trump — who tweeted more opposition to vote-by-mail during the hearing — were behind the moves.
In his remarks, Comer accused Democrats of “fabricating a baseless conspiracy theory” against DeJoy, saying the USPS has $15 billion cash on hand and has enough to operate until August 2021.
“This has been their spin since the Russian hoax fell flat, since the impeachment sham died in the Senate,” Comer said. “Every conspiracy theory to date that the Democrats have used to try and hurt the President has fallen flat, so this is the new flavor of the day.”
Massie highlighted a move by the USPS in 2012 under the Obama administration to move several mail processing facilities out of Kentucky, saying this wasn’t called a conspiracy in that presidential election year.
The Republican from Northern Kentucky also brought up Kentucky’s June 23 primary elections, implying that Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear had disenfranchised voters through his bipartisan voting agreement with Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams to limit in-person voting with the pandemic.
“Our Democratic governor shut down 95% of the voting precincts in the state, and now Democrats are somehow trying to blame the post office for disenfranchising voters,” Massie said.
While some counties dramatically lowered their in-person voting locations in the primary, the deal struck by Beshear and Adams gave unprecedented no-excuse access to mail-in voting and two weeks of early, in-person voting, leading to a record number of primary voters and the highest turnout rate in over a decade.
Duncan was questioned by Democratic legislators about his board’s hiring of DeJoy, who said his past private-sector experience in shipping and logistics companies made him qualified for the role.
While the USPS sent letters to state election officials weeks ago warning that it may not be able to deliver ballots in time to be counted, DeJoy expressed confidence under questioning that the agency would be able to deliver all ballots on time, saying he planned to vote by mail himself.
Trump addressed the Republican National Convention during the hearing and repeated more accusations that vote-by-mail would lead to widespread voter fraud, without any proof, in addition to tweeting opposition.
“All the Radical Left Democrats are trying to do with the Post Office hearings is blame the Republicans for the FRAUD that will occur because of the 51 Million Ballots that are being sent to people who have not even requested them. They are setting the table for a BIG MESS!,” Trump tweeted.
Reach reporter Joe Sonka at [email protected] or 502-582-4472 and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courierjournal.com/subscribe.
