Controversial USPS Board of Governors Chair Ron Bloom is a big reason for the delays and price hikes at the USPS that began last summer. Ron Bloom was appointed by then-President Trump to serve out the remainder of a term that ended in December 2020, Bloom is now in the midst of a “holdover year” that runs to December 2021. Because his term has expired, President Biden can appoint a new person to this seat at any time, and is under no obligation by past practice to re-appoint a postal governor to the board. President Biden must thank Ron Bloom for his service and appoint a new governor to his seat by this December.
Re-appointing Ron Bloom for another seven-year term would be a disaster for the post office for four reasons.
1.He’s a walking conflict of interest.
For his day job, Bloom is a managing partner at Brookfield Asset Management (BAM), which takes a business interest in privatizing public assets. BAM embroiled in several controversies: from its treatment of low-income tenants in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic to its extraordinary actions to save Jared Kushner from defaulting on a $1 billion plus loan on 666 Fifth Avenue, which is now the subject of Congressional inquiries.
Furthermore, Louis DeJoy recently invested $305,000 in BAM assets. The USPS said that the transactions cleared their ethics standard, but this is a clear conflict of interest, especially given that Bloom in his current role as chair of the postal board of governors is DeJoy’s supervisor.