Democrats have accused him of trying to hinder mail-in voting
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy denied accusations that the United States Postal Service wouldn't be able to handle increased volumes of election mail in November, and told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Friday that the USPS was "fully capable" of getting the job done, CBS News reported.
DeJoy has been a target of Democrats who believe the Trump donor and logistics expert is handicapping the Postal Service at the president's urging in order to discourage or limit mail-in voting.
"As we head into the election season, I want to assure this committee, and the American public, that the Postal Service is fully capable of delivering the nation's election mail securely and on time," DeJoy testified.
DeJoy said even mail-in ballots sent one week before Election Day would be counted, because USPS workers will "scour every plant each night leading up to Election Day" to make sure no ballot is left behind.
Rather than being opposed to mail-in voting, as President Donald Trump is, DeJoy told the committee "I think the American public should be able to vote by mail, and the Postal Service will support it."
DeJoy clarified that the potential issue with mail-in ballots is related to state deadlines that are too close to Election Day, which is why 46 states were notified of that issue in a letter late last month. DeJoy said Americans should vote early, if they can.
The U.S. Postal Service plans to "send a letter to every American" explaining "what our process is" for mail-in voting, DeJoy said Friday.
DeJoy, who has been in his role since June, said he has never spoken to Trump or White House advisers about making changes to service.
The USPS has long been in bad financial shape, and DeJoy was hired as a logistics expert from the private sector to address issues of cost and efficiency. Some of the changes that have reportedly been made, such as the limiting of overtime and the removal of some mail sorting machines and collection boxes, have led to some delays in mail delivery in some areas. Those operational changes were suspended by DeJoy this week to avoid the appearance of tampering with the Nov. 3 election.
Some recent primary elections were disrupted by issues with mail-in ballots. A New York congressional election was delayed by six weeks due to a dispute over some ballots that were not postmarked or that were received after the deadline. Tens of thousands of votes that were mailed in weren't counted for various reasons.
Democrats are pushing for billions of dollars in additional funding for the USPS, partially to help with the election. On Friday, DeJoy told Congress the USPS did not need a federal bailout, but did advocate for reimbursement for service provided during the pandemic even while revenues were down.
