President Joe Biden’s nominees to the United States Postal Service board of governors have now all been confirmed, with the Senate’s approval of Anton Hajjar, former general counsel of the American Postal Workers Union. This means the nine-member board now has four Democrats and a Biden-appointed independent, raising progressive hopes that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, the former shipping executive appointed under former President Donald Trump, could finally be removed.
But things aren’t quite so simple, wrote Steve Benen for MSNBC.
“Remember, despite considerable speculation about President Joe Biden firing DeJoy, that has never been a legal option: the USPS can oust the postmaster general, but the president cannot,” wrote Benen. “That said, Biden doesn’t appear eager for DeJoy to stick around. A few months ago, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters, ‘I think we can all agree — most Americans would agree — that the Postal Service needs leadership that can and will do a better job.'”