(CNN) — A key House committee plans to subpoena Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Wednesday, over documents its chairwoman said DeJoy “has been withholding from Congress,” the committee said Monday.
During DeJoy’s testimony last week, the Committee on Oversight and Reform requested documents on the changes made to the postal service that caused widespread delays across the country by August 26. According to a statement from the committee, no documents were produced and two days after the deadline, DeJoy sent a letter to the committee that said, “I trust my August 24 testimony before the Committee on Oversight and Reform clarified any outstanding questions you had.”
A committee source said Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney plans to serve the subpoena on Wednesday, 48 hours after sharing it with the Republican members, based on former Chairman Elijah Cummings’ agreement to provide time for consultation with the Ranking Member.
The planned subpoena represents an escalation in the ongoing battle between Democrats and DeJoy as the party seeks to ensure access to mail-in voting for as many Americans as possible amid the coronavirus pandemic. Multiple House Democrats have called for the resignation or removal of DeJoy, a major donor to President Donald Trump.
Though Trump has repeatedly pushed false claims that foreign adversaries are targeting mail ballots as part of a “rigged” presidential race, US officials charged with protecting the 2020 election said last week that they have “no information or intelligence” that foreign countries, including Russia, are attempting to undermine any part of the mail-in voting process.
According to the statement from the committee, the committee is also sending a letter to Robert Duncan, the chairman of the Postal Service Board of Governors, who testified before the panel last week with DeJoy, about documents it says the Board is withholding by citing a DOJ opinion claiming FOIA prohibits the information from being disclosed to a member of Congress who is not the chair of a committee.
Maloney is writing the Board for all the documents and information requested by other members and notifies the Board that she will issue a subpoena if they are not produced voluntarily.
During last week’s hearing, DeJoy defended his performance as postmaster general, downplaying the changes he made and saying he was focused on stopping the postal service losing money.
In his testimony, DeJoy acknowledged that a “deterioration in service” had occurred following changes to mail trucks taking additional trips, but he said the USPS was already seeing a bounce-back. And he argued that other changes, like the removal of mail-processing machines, were already happening before he took over in June.
Duncan, meanwhile, defended the board’s appointment of DeJoy during his testimony last week, saying DeJoy was unanimously selected following a rigorous selection process.
“There must be dramatic changes if the Postal Service is to succeed. Mr. DeJoy was selected to be that transformational leader, who can help strengthen the Postal Service for the long term,” Duncan said.
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