Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) NY questions Postmaster General Louis DeJoy at House Oversight Committee

No, The New Postmaster General Would Not Have Been “Fired By Now” If He Was CEO Of A Major Corporation

Democrats in Congress are botching a crystal clear, easy to understand issue that should be a political slam dunk for them by making it overly convoluted

Should be simple as:

“Where’s my damn mail? And what are you going to do to get it to me?”

Leave it at that. Let it resonate.

Which is why every time we hear House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney use that “CEO” line, which seemed like about a million times today, we cringe.

Because:

1. It makes the situation with the currently broken United States Postal Service more complicated by putting it into the context of comparing it (and its leadership) to a regular business, which it’s not.
2. It allows the conversation to move into the realm of running the Postal Service like a business. Which is not the point right now. And might even give some wavering Trump supporters (especially if they’re not getting important deliveries like medications) pause to reconsider and think: “Right! Now we get it: he’s just trying to run it like a business. Of course there are going to be some hiccups!”
3. It’s also not true.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy was brought in by Trump (or rather by the Postal Service Board of Governors, who are all Trump appointees, including its Chair who used to be head of the Republican National Committee), as a logistics expert capable of turning around the Postal Service’s business.

And turnaround specialists are usually given great latitude by boards, which understand the underlying business may temporarily suffer as the new CEO goes about the painful process of cutting costs (which often means people), streamlining and breaking down, then reimagining the core business. Some turnaround specialists are legends of corporate America. Others turned out to be hustlers who got lucky once or twice and dragged whole fortunes and thousands of jobs down with them.

Still, no way Louis DeJoy would be out after a little more than 2 months. Because…