President Joe Biden is slated to announce on Friday that he won’t keep a top ally of controversial Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on the U.S. Postal Service board of governors next month, according to the Washington Post.
The ally, USPS board chair Ron Bloom, reportedly will not be renominated to the nine-member board when his term ends next month. Though Bloom is a Democrat, he supports DeJoy, who was appointed by ex-President Donald Trump and has implemented USPS policies that have slowed down deliveries while hiking up prices.
Bloom’s critics have pointed a potential conflict of interest between the chair and DeJoy, who has bought more than $300,000 in bonds from Bloom’s asset management company.
Removing Bloom from the board, the only institution that can oust a Postmaster General, allows Biden to appoint a governor who could provide another vote with the three other Democratic members to get rid of DeJoy. The President has filled three slots on the board since he entered office.
The board currently holds four Democrats, four Republicans (all of whom were appointed by Trump), and one independent.
Biden has faced deep pressure from progressives to clean up the board and have DeJoy, a Trump donor, removed after changes last year became an election flash-point, hampering mail-in voting as Trump repeatedly attacked voting by mail.
