Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a roundtable on economic reopening with community members, Thursday, June 11, 2020, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Shortly after taking office, Biden issued an executive order calling for the electrification of the Postal Service’s more than 230,000 trucks, vans, and other vehicles as part of his plan to address climate change. Presumably, his administration has a plan to cover the cost of replacing the aging fleet, estimated to be more than $5 billion. The USPS doesn’t have that kind of money.
As with much of his overall agenda, the majority of what Biden hopes to achieve on postal issues depends on congressional cooperation. Although DeJoy’s detractors would prefer otherwise, the president can’t hire and fire the postmaster general. That’s up to the nine members of the Board of Governors, who are appointed by the president, subject to Senate confirmation. Four of the current six appointees are Republicans. Biden has the opportunity to tilt the board against DeJoy by filling three vacant positions with governors of his own.
