How the Postal Service Became Donald Trump's for the Taking

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s announcement on Tuesday that he would suspend much of his proposed reform agenda at the United States Postal Service (USPS) until after the election failed to placate Democratic lawmakers, who noted that the North Carolina business executive and longtime Republican donor seemed to be using his position to undermine the upcoming presidential election.

“There are still too many unanswered questions,” Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which oversees the Postal Service, said in a statement Tuesday.

Peters and other Congressional Democrats have scheduled a slew of public hearings with DeJoy and other officials. The first of these hearings will take place Thursday before the Congressional Progressive Caucus. DeJoy will testify before the Senate on Aug. 21 and before the House on Aug. 24.

David C. Williams, a former Postal Service Inspector General and former member of the USPS’s Board of Governors, is among those testifying on Thursday. Williams resigned from the USPS Board of Governors in April because he was concerned about how politicized it was becoming under Trump, he told the CPC on Thursday, an effort that was being led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The Treasury Department is responsible for administering the $10 billion line of credit to USPS to help alleviate the financial strain exacerbated by the coronavirus. Although the Board of Governors had asked Congress for $75 billion to help with its financial losses, Republicans, led by Mnuchin, had balked at that number.

In his statement, Williams alleged that Mnuchin “insisted that all Republican appointees for the Board ofGovernors and Postal Regulatory Commission come to his office to kiss the ring and receive his blessing before confirmation.”

Although Williams had privately expressed concerns to various officials prior to his testimony, he declined to speak publicly until he was given the opportunity to do so before Congress.

It is rare that the Postal Service—frequently seen by the public as one of the most popular and apolitical parts of the federal government—finds itself under such a microscope. Part of the reason for its current position is President Trump, who has repeatedly attacked the Postal Service, calling it a joke, and explaining that he opposed Democratic measures that would fund the USPS before the Election because doing so would give the agency the funds it needs to handle an influx of mail voting before the Election.

But Trump’s impulsiveness doesn’t explain everything, according to experts on the USPS and postal union representatives. When the President took office three and a half years ago, he inherited an empty Board of Governors. For years, Congress had refused to confirm any of Barack Obama’s nominees to the Board, due to infighting on both sides of the aisle. Trump was therefore handed the opportunity to fill the Board of Governors with a majority of members—many of whom are business executives with ties to the Republican party—who shared his cost-cutting vision.

“I had never heard of anything like it in the U.S. government,” says James Sauber, chief of staff for the National Association of Letter Carriers, of the empty Board of Governors. “It was pretty extraordinary.”

There are nine slots allotted for the USPS Board of Governors. They function in a capacity akin a corporate board of a company, collectively appointing a Postmaster General and Deputy Postmaster General. The board is designed to be bipartisan by nature. While a sitting President appoints members when vacancies arise, no more than five members can be from the same party, and all nominees are subject to Congressional confirmation. Members are also elected to serve for seven year terms, ensuring that their tenure lasts through at least one Presidential administration.

By 2014, there were fewer than six members on the Board of Governors, which meant the body lacked a quorum and was unable to perform key functions. But while Obama nominated seven people to fill those vacancies, according to a 2018 report from the Congressional Research Service, none received a vote in the Senate.

The opposition came from both sides of the aisle. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders placed a hold on two of the nominations, James Miller and Mickey Barnett, who had already been serving on the Board of Governors and had been selected to serve another term. Republicans placed holds on the nominees supported by Democratic leadership. Warren Gunnels, Sanders’ Staff Director, says Miller and Barnett were selected in consultation with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and that Sanders opposed them because they wanted to privatize the postal service and he was trying to protect the workers.

“It is a total lie and a distortion of reality to assert that Bernie Sanders, one of the strongest defenders of the U.S. Postal Service in Congress, enabled Trump’s efforts to destroy the Postal Service. Along with the American Postal Workers Union, the AFL-CIO and the NAACP, Senator Sanders did everything he could to stop two extreme right-wing Republicans from being appointed to the Postal Service’s Board of Governors,” Gunnels said in a statement. “These two Republicans wanted to privatize the Postal Service, slash jobs and slow down mail delivery.”

McConnell’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

By 2016, the Board of Governors was down to one member, James Bilbray, whose term ended in December of that year. By the time Trump took office in January 2017, the Board was officially empty, offering him a unique opportunity that he quickly seized. Of the six members currently serving on the Board of Governors, four have donated to Republican candidates, including Trump, and have served as officials in prior Republican administrations or political organizations, according to TIME’s analysis of political contributions and financial disclosures.

The other two members, Ron Bloom—a former member of the Obama administration—and Donald Moak, are viewed as the Democratic members. (Williams was also viewed as a Democratic pick until his resignation). Bloom’s term though, ends in December of 2020, giving Trump yet another opportunity to nominate someone to the Board.

As a result of these nominations, all of which were confirmed by voice vote in the Senate, the USPS Board of Governors had a quorum and could resume its major responsibilities by August 2019. So when former Postmaster General Megan Brennan announced her intentions to retire in October of that year, the Board was in a position to elect her successor. In May, they picked DeJoy, the first person selected for that position who had not come up through the organization.

Questions still abound about how, exactly, the Board of Governors settled on DeJoy. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office has been probing the process, alleging that the Board withheld key information from Congress on the matter, including the administration’s involvement.

What’s clear though, is that DeJoy’s selection was the result of a series of decisions that predated the Trump administration.

“Clearly, if there had been holdovers with experience there might have been different outcomes,” says Art Sackler, who manages the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service, a mailing and shipping industry group. “Including on the hiring of the Postmaster General.”

More Must-Reads From TIME

Write to Alana Abramson at Alana.Abramson@time.com.

Biden claims 'all' grandchildren protected by Secret Service despite questions over Hunter's daughter

President Biden bragged Thursday that all of his grandchildren enjoy Secret Service protection, but the White House has yet to clarify whether that includes his estranged grandchild via Hunter Biden.

Biden only recently acknowledged 4-year-old Navy Joan Roberts, whose mother is engaged in a child support case against Hunter. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for clarification from Fox News Digital.

"Years ago, when John Kerry was the nominee for president for the Democratic Party, he talked with me about the possibility of being vice president," Biden said. "I said no. I didn't want to be vice president.

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President Biden bragged Thursday that all his grandchildren enjoy Secret Service protection, but the White House won't clarify whether that includes his estranged grandchild via Hunter Biden. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

"But had I known that, as vice president, I get Secret Service, and had I known that meant my daughters get Secret Service and my granddaughters, I would've fought even harder for him at the time.

"Now, I have a bunch of grandchildren, and they all have Secret Service. My daughter has Secret Service, and It's just wonderful. I'm not sure what they think about it, but it's just wonderful."

Biden made the statement during a speech marking the one-year anniversary of the passage of the PACT Act, which relates to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Conservative legal group Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit in late July seeking records relating to any Secret Service protection for Roberts. The lawsuit comes after the Secret Service responded to a Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act request in May by stating that no responsive records had been located.

"For security reasons they do not comment specifically on who may receive Secret Service protection," Secret Service communications chief Anthony Guglielmi told Fox News Digital in a statement Thursday.

President Biden speaks during an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 25, 2023. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Biden only recently acknowledged his estranged granddaughter, having previously referred only to his "six" grandchildren that he has through his children's marriages. Roberts was born through Hunter's extramarital relationship with Lunden Alexis Roberts.

HUNTER BIDEN REMAINS ‘GOOD STANDING’ MEMBER OF DC BAR DESPITE FACING CRIMINAL CHARGES

"Our son Hunter and Navy’s mother, Lunden, are working together to foster a relationship that is in the best interests of their daughter, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward," Biden said July 28 in a statement to Fox News Digital.

"This is not a political issue, it’s a family matter," he added. "Jill and I only want what is best for all of their grandchildren, including Navy."

President Biden only recently acknowledged his estranged granddaughter, who was born through son Hunter Biden's extramarital relationship with Lunden Alexis Roberts, having previously referred only to his "six" grandchildren that he has through his children's marriages. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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In June, Hunter settled his Arkansas child support case with Roberts' mother, ending a yearslong paternity dispute. 

A court filing showed Hunter agreed to give his daughter some of his paintings, and the mother of the child agreed to withdraw her counterclaim to change their child's last name to "Biden."

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.

Getting to know Niskayuna music teacher Susan Kokernak – Recently earned a national board music certification

NISKAYUNA – Susan Kokernak has a music-filled life. She has been a music and band teacher at Niskayuna Central School District for 13 years, she plays oboe with the Schenectady Symphony Orchestra and other musical organizations and she recently earned National Board Certification in music for elementary and middle-school levels.

Kokernak, a Niskayuna resident, was one of 75 teachers across the state who received board certification in December from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. She was one of just two in New York and 58 nationwide to receive the certification in Early and Middle Childhood Music with an emphasis in band.

Kokernak teaches about 140 students between two elementary schools, seventh-grade band and also lessons in sixth and seventh grade.

The Gazette caught up with Kokernak recently to talk about her career:

Q: What does it feel like to now be board certified? What was it like becoming board certified?A: It’s pretty detailed. The process for all the certifications is very focused. I focused on fifth-grade band. There’s four large components you have to complete. The first is called content knowledge, where you take a test on music theory, music history. You have to compose on the spot.

You have some composition that you have to be able to write music for band that’s appropriate for the age level that you’re getting certified in, and then you have to have specialized skills and knowledge in band, which is the content area.

Q: What are some of your favorite things about teaching and, more specifically, teaching in Niskayuna?A: It’s really fun. The kids have a lot of fun. In my teaching, I try to create a calm, fun atmosphere, but also, I expect them to work really hard. And I think that [if] they see that work ethic paying off, then they are very rewarded by that.

Music is awesome. There’s no other thing in life like it. When you’re learning how to play an instrument, you’re learning your fine-motor skills, and you’re training your ear, and you’re learning about the form of music, and you’re reading a new language.

Q: How did you get into music?A: My family always listened to a lot of music when I was growing up. Both of my older brothers played instruments, and my oldest brother was a jazz and rock musician, so I always knew I would play an instrument.

I started with the piano when I was 7, and then I played oboe when I was 10. I knew immediately that was what I wanted to do. So my undergraduate [degree] is actually in oboe performance and music management. I got a double major. Then later I went back and focused on music education. I got my master’s degree in music ed.

Q: What are some of the hardest parts about teaching music?A: Probably helping kids to find the time to practice, and find the right ways to practice, [and figure out] what they should focus on.I created a new practice sheet and a practice log plan, so if a child only has 10 minutes to practice, what would be the best thing for them to go through, and try to develop a routine with it so they can be developing good practice habits throughout the week.

I’m lucky that I work in a terrific department. They have amazing musicians in their department, everybody plays different instruments. We’ve got wonderful vocalists, wonderful pianists, jazz musicians. It’s cool to come to work every day and work in an atmosphere where my colleagues are awesome, they are really well-trained. In the elementary schools, too, the classroom teachers are excellent.

Q: When you’re not teaching music, what do you like to do for fun?A: I like to run, and spend fun, quality time with my husband, Jim, and my two girls, Amelia and Charlotte.

I play oboe with the Schenectady Symphony. They have a concert coming up on March 11, and I play with the Fenimore Chamber Orchestra, in Cooperstown. That’s a new orchestra that just started. The 2022-2023 [season] is their inaugural season so that has been wonderful. I play a lot with Albany Pro Musica and different choral groups and orchestras in the area.

Q: Is there anything else people should know about you?A: I find that learning an instrument is really rewarding. And, I try to do that too. I’m still practicing and I’m playing. I try to talk about that in my teaching with my students so that they know that I’m going through the same thing. I’m very busy and I’m trying to schedule my time so I can get time in with my instruments to learn the music that I have to perform next. It’s great – once you go through the concert you just feel so rewarded that you persevered through some hard work.

“Getting To Know …” is a weekly feature spotlighting people making a difference in the lives of others. If there’s someone you think they should feature, let us know by emailing us at [email protected]

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