- Former employees of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said they were urged by DeJoy and his aides to make political contributions to GOP candidates, the Washington Post reported.
- The former employees of DeJoy’s former business told the Post that they were reimbursed for their contributions with bonus payments.
- Business Insider previously reported that DeJoy himself has raised millions for Republican politicians as a major GOP fundraiser.
- DeJoy has been at the forefront of a series of drastic cost-cutting measures in the USPS that have been associated with delayed mail delivery, prompting concerns for mail-in-ballots in the upcoming election.
Former employees of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said they felt pressured to make political contributions to GOP candidates while working for his former business, The Washington Post report.
Several people who worked under or were familiar with DeJoy at his former business New Breed Logistics, a supply chain company, told the Post that DeJoy asked employees to donate to GOP fundraisers in return for bonus payments to make up for the costs.
“Louis was a national fundraiser for the Republican Party. He asked employees for money. We gave him the money, and then he reciprocated by giving us big bonuses,” David Young, a former human resources director who previously had access to New Breed’s payroll records, told the Post.
The Post said an analysis of campaign finance records saw a “pattern of extensive donations by New Breed employees to Republican candidates.”
Monty Hagler, a spokesman for DeJoy, told Business Insider in a statement that DeJoy “was never notified by the New Breed employees referenced by the Washington Post of any pressure they might have felt to make a political contribution, and he regrets if any employee felt uncomfortable for any reason.”
He added that while at New Breed Logistics, DeJoy “sought and received legal advice from the former General Counsel of the Federal Election Commission on election laws, including the law of political contributions, to ensure that he, New Breed Logistics, and any person affiliated with New Breed fully complied with any and all laws.”
DeJoy was a controversial choice for postmaster general, as he joined the post office with no prior experience but is a prominent GOP fundraiser and as personally raised millions for Republican politicians. Business Insider previously reported that he and his wife donated around $1.6 million since Trump’s election in 2016.
DeJoy has since been criticized for his drastic cost-cutting measures in the USPS including cutting overtime for postal service workers, cutting post office hours, and displacing some mail collection boxes, which have been associated with delayed mail delivery. Lawmakers have questioned DeJoy, as concerns for delayed mail loom over an election that expects a high number of mail-in-ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic that could skew results.
