DeJoy House Testimony Refuses to Restore Mail Sorting Machines Despite Court Concerns

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy testified before the House Oversight and Reform Committee in a contentious marathon hearing where he repeatedly refused to restore mail sorting machines that had been removed or disconnected under his leadership, despite widespread mail delays and concerns about the upcoming election. DeJoy denied that policies he implemented led to current mail delays and engaged in heated exchanges with multiple representatives over the removal of 671 high-speed mail sorting machines capable of processing 21.4 million pieces per hour.

Refuses to Reconnect Sorting Machines

When pressed by Representative Harley Rouda about why disconnected sorting machines couldn’t simply be plugged back in, DeJoy testified that reinstalling the machines was “not something I directed” and refused to commit to restoring them. He repeatedly stated that equipment already removed would not be returned to service despite having announced days earlier that he would suspend further operational changes until after the election. California Representative Ro Khanna engaged in particularly heated exchanges with DeJoy over the sorting machine removals, with DeJoy insisting the removals preceded his June 15 start date—a claim contradicted by USPS documents showing removals accelerated dramatically under his leadership.

Claims of Non-Political Motivation Ring Hollow

DeJoy denied political motivations for his operational changes, stating “That’s an outrageous claim, sir, and I resent it” when questioned about reimbursing executives for Trump campaign contributions. However, his testimony came just days after President Trump explicitly admitted on Fox Business that he was blocking USPS funding to restrict mail voting, directly contradicting DeJoy’s claims that operational changes were unrelated to the election. Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney noted that DeJoy had been a $1.2 million Trump donor with $30-75 million in conflicts of interest through his XPO Logistics holdings.

Evasive Answers and Lack of Transparency

Throughout the hearing, DeJoy provided evasive answers about key questions: when he decided to implement changes, what data he reviewed before ordering machine removals, and why he hadn’t consulted with USPS experts before implementing operational changes during an election. He claimed he was unaware of specific data on declining on-time delivery performance despite it being fundamental to assessing postal operations. DeJoy testified he was “extremely highly confident” the Postal Service could handle the election, but refused to provide data or metrics to support this claim.

Significance

DeJoy’s House testimony revealed the deliberate nature of USPS sabotage: even after public outcry, federal court concerns, and Trump’s explicit confession of election interference, DeJoy refused to reverse the damage he had inflicted. His refusal to restore sorting machines demonstrated that degrading postal capacity before the election was the goal, not an unfortunate side effect of cost-cutting measures. The testimony provided federal courts with evidence of DeJoy’s intransigence when issuing orders to restore service standards. His evasive answers and implausible denials of political motivation—delivered days after Trump’s confession—showed the coordinated nature of executive branch election interference. The hearing created a permanent congressional record of DeJoy’s refusal to protect mail voting, which would prove crucial in subsequent litigation challenging USPS operational changes. It exemplified how Trump administration officials executed political directives while deploying implausible deniability under oath.