Many of the USPS board members have business, campaign or legal ties to President Trump and his allies.
Most members of the U. S. Postal Service’s board of governors, who were responsible for selecting Louis DeJoy as postmaster general, have numerous ties to the Republican Party as well as to President Donald Trump’s associates and administration. According to a CNBC review of public documents and disclosures, five of the six members of the board, including Chairman Robert Duncan, are linked to GOP and Trump circles through various campaign, legal and financial connections. The White House and the USPS did not return a request for comment after CNBC laid out the details reported in this story. The Postal Service’s leadership is under increasing scrutiny with just under three months until the general election between Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Mail-in ballots could be crucial for some voters to participate in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Trump himself suggested last week that he was hesitant to agree to another coronavirus relief bill because of an increase in funding for the USPS. He said it could help Democrats in the November elections with mail-in ballots. DeJoy and Duncan are slated to head to Capitol Hill to face lawmakers. DeJoy will face the Republican-led Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Friday. On Monday, he and Duncan will testify before the Democratic-led House Oversight Committee about the cost cutting measures that may impact the election. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and other leading lawmakers on the Democratic side have called on the board to push back on DeJoy’s proposals and remove him if necessary. DeJoy himself was a prolific fundraiser for Trump and the Republican Party before he landed the top USPS job in June. The board members were all appointed by Trump. Robert Duncan Duncan, who is often called Mike, is listed as a director of American Crossroads, a super PAC that’s backing Trump in the 2020 election. His position is posted on the PAC’s most recent annual report, which was filed in March. The committee has spent $1.9 million backing Trump this cycle, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. The PAC’s top donor in 2020 is Steve Wynn, the former Republican National Committee finance chair and previous CEO of Wynn Resorts.
