Louis Dejoy, Postmaster General of USPS, on Tuesday announced that he is reversing all the changes that the agency had announced until November 3rd election.
The announcement to roll back changes comes after all-round pressure from public and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle.
In a statement, DeJoy said that he has decided to roll back changes to dismiss any impression that the changes were brought in to influence the upcoming presidential election.
Decision after all-round criticism, pressure
In the statement, DeJoy said, "to avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded."
DeJoy, a Trump loyal, had brought in changes at the agency that critics said were intended to slow the delivery of mail-in ballots during the election, which then could have impacted the result of the election.
The changes sought to reorganise the agency's official structure besides altering its services. The most controversial changes were to stop using over 500 mail sorting machines, cutting overtime, besides letting go senior executives of the agency.
Lawmakers from both the sides of the aisle had criticised the changes brought in just three months ahead of the election.
More than 20 States threatened to challenge the changes
Attorney generals from several states had decided to challenge the changes made at the USPS in federal courts, which they said could have delayed delivery of mail-in ballots by more than ten days jeopardizing the election result.
States like Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Connecticut, Illinois, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin had decided to file lawsuits against the changes made at USPS.
$25billion aid for USPS
Leader of the House Nancy Pelosi said that the Democratic leaders plan to bring in the bill which would facilitate infusion of $25billion into the USPS enabling the agency to function efficiently during the election and thereafter.
Pelosi on Saturday called the Democratic-controlled House back early from its recess to vote on bills that would prevent any further changes at the USPS.
DeJoy, in his defence of the changes that he made, had said that the new rules were intended to pull out the agency from losses it was making.
Trump defended changes at USPS
President Donald Trump too had defended the changes in the management of the USPS and had refused any financial aid for the agency despite acknowledging that the November election could see a massive surge in people opting for mail-in voting due to coronavirus pandemic.
Many critics had pointed out DeJoy's conflict of interest by showing his stakes in private mail services company like FedEx and UPS.
DeJoy will testify before the House Oversight Committee on August 24 on the changes made at the USPS by the Trump administration in an apparent effort to delay the mail-in ballots during the election.
