Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Friday that he never discussed any changes to U.S. Postal Service policies with President Trump.
Why it matters: DeJoy, a Trump mega-donor, denied having any substantive policy conversations with the president amid increasing public scrutiny over proposed cost-saving measures that many fear could hinder the USPS' ability to properly handle mail-in ballots during November's election.
- DeJoy said earlier this week that he would halt planned USPS changes in order to "avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail," but did not commit to rolling back already implemented changes in policy.
- Trump has vowed to block any pandemic stimulus funding for mail-in voting. The president told Fox Business that doing so "means you can't have universal mail-in voting because they're not equipped to have it."
- Trump has repeatedly made baseless claims that increased mail-in voting will lead to widespread voter fraud.
What's he saying: DeJoy said Friday that he had "never spoken to the president about the Postal Service, other than to congratulate me when I accepted the position."
- "There has been no changes to any policies with regard to election mail," DeJoy told the committee.
- "The Postal Service is fully capable and committed to delivering the nation’s election mail fully and on time."
Worth noting: DeJoy told Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) that he plans to vote by mail this year and has "voted by mail for a number of years."
- He later said that he was "extremely highly confident" that any ballots mailed seven days before the election would be delivered on time.
What's next: Dejoy is expected to testify before a Democratic-led House panel on Monday.
