Is Trump's new postmaster general Louis DeJoy hitting the ‘self-destruct’ button on democracy?

The Wisconsin primary on April 7 was the first in the United States after the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the nation, leading to business and school shutdowns as people adjusted to limit in-person encounters to slow the spread of the virus. “Eliminating or even reducing overtime can only result in increased delays in the processing and delivery of mail and packages, including critical items such as prescriptions and election materials.” The slowdown was already apparent in New Jersey by July 21, when Rep. Andy Kim, a Democrat, wrote to DeJoy in a letter obtained by Triad City Beat: “Many of my constituents have rightly contacted my office to express frustration and concern about ongoing mail delivery delays, some of whom have not received their medications and first-class mail for more than three days.” By early August, members of the Illinois delegation informed DeJoy that they had received reports “of individuals going up to two weeks without mail delivery in some Chicago neighborhoods,” and the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that some residents in the region hadn’t received packages and letters in three weeks. While DeJoy told the US Postal Service Board of Governors on Aug. 7 that the organization suffers from a “broken business model,” Wos inaugurated her tenure at DHHS in January 2013 by declaring that the state’s Medicaid program was “broken.” When she resigned from the post 32 months later, she took pride in noting that the Medicaid program was $130.7 million in the black. McCrory famously wept, and praised her by saying she “took all the hits, took all the bullets.” ‘Unconstitutional sabotage’ Louis DeJoy’s history of building a profitable transportation and logistics company and President Trump’s well documented disdain for the US Postal Service has led to speculation that DeJoy’s function as postmaster general is to privatize the organization. He said the Postal Service plans to send a letter to election officials “in states that have deadlines for requesting and casting mail-in ballots that under our reading of their election laws appears to be incongruous with the Postal Service delivery standards.” In a July 7 report on the misplaced ballots in the Wisconsin primary, the US Postal Service Office of the Inspector General warned: “States’ deadlines for voters to request absentee ballots are insufficient to ensure delivery before an election.” The report singled out 11 states with no deadline or deadlines within three days of the election, including Minnesota and Ohio — considered critical swing states — along with New Hampshire, North Dakota, Washington, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Montana, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.