Postal Service Sabotage: DeJoy Changes, Mail Slowdowns Before 2020 Election
Louis DeJoy was appointed Postmaster General in May 2020 despite having no postal service background and being a major Republican donor. Within weeks, DeJoy implemented changes including eliminating overtime (which slowed mail delivery), removing letter-sorting machines (which processed mail faster), reducing post office hours, and ordering trucks to depart on schedule rather than wait for mail. Mail piled up. First-class mail delivery times — the metric by which election mail is typically processed — deteriorated significantly. Trump simultaneously told Fox Business the slowdown was deliberate, saying he was withholding USPS funding specifically because it would facilitate mail-in voting he opposed.
Record summary
Grade
Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern
Systematic actions that undermine fundamental constitutional or international legal protections at the structural level. Scale and definitions
- Status
- Concluded
- Incident date
- Record updated
- Location
- Washington, D.C.
- Category
- Rule of Law
- Legal posture
- Judicial finding
- War-crime classification
- Enabling conduct
- Verification
- Independently verified
- ICC relevance
- No
- Sources
- 4 cited
- Stable ID
trump-postal-service-dejoy-election-interference- Victims
- American voters who submitted mail-in ballots that were delayed or threatened by USPS operational changes; patients dependent on mail-order prescription delivery delayed by operational changes; veterans and Social Security recipients dependent on USPS for benefit checks; American democratic process
- Alleged responsible parties
- Donald Trump, President; explicitly stated he was withholding USPS funding to prevent mail-in voting; appointed DeJoy without postal experience; supported operational changes during election period— White House
- Louis DeJoy, Postmaster General (appointed May 2020); implemented operational changes that slowed mail delivery during pandemic; Republican donor; removed hundreds of mail sorting machines— U.S. Postal Service
Key points
- Trump told Fox Business on August 13, 2020: 'They need that money in order to make the Post Office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots... if they don't get those two items, that means you can't have universal mail-in voting' — an explicit admission he was opposing USPS funding because it would enable mail-in voting
- DeJoy removed approximately 671 high-speed letter sorting machines — capable of processing 35,000 pieces of mail per hour each — from postal facilities across the country; the removals were ordered completed by the end of August 2020, just weeks before general election mail-in ballot season began; postal unions said the machines were destroyed or discarded and could not be quickly restored
- Mail collection boxes were removed from streets in multiple cities including Portland, Oregon and other Democratic-leaning areas; when images went viral, USPS paused the removals; the postal service initially denied removals were occurring before acknowledging them
- A federal judge in Washington state issued a preliminary injunction on August 21, 2020 ordering USPS to stop implementing DeJoy's changes and to treat election mail as first-class; 47 states filed suit or joined challenges; additional injunctions were issued in Oregon and New York
- USPS first-class mail delivery performance dropped sharply under DeJoy's changes: on-time delivery rates fell below 88% nationally and below 80% in some regions; mail including prescription medications, government benefit checks, and time-sensitive correspondence was delayed; veterans organizations reported delayed medication deliveries
- DeJoy suspended the operational changes on August 18, 2020 after public and Congressional pressure — but did not restore the removed sorting machines; more than 200 machines had already been decommissioned; Democratic leadership demanded DeJoy's firing; the Postal Board of Governors, appointed largely by Republicans, retained him
Overview
On August 13, 2020, on television, the President of the United States explained why he was deliberately degrading the postal service: he didn't want it to be able to process mail-in votes.
He said this in plain language on Fox Business. It was not a deduction from circumstantial evidence. It was a direct statement of intent.
DeJoy's Changes
Louis DeJoy had been Postmaster General for two months when he implemented changes that slowed mail delivery across the country. No overtime: workers left at the end of their shifts, regardless of whether the mail was processed. No waiting for trucks: vehicles departed on schedule, leaving mail behind. Sorting machines: removed, decommissioned, in many cases destroyed.
The machines mattered. Each high-speed letter sorter processed 35,000 pieces per hour. USPS ordered 671 of them removed. When images of the removals circulated and pressure built, USPS said the machines wouldn't be restored — they'd already been discarded or destroyed.
The Admission
Trump's Fox Business interview on August 13 removed whatever ambiguity might have existed about intent. He was withholding postal service funding. He was doing it because, without funding, the post office couldn't handle the mail-in ballots. He didn't want the mail-in ballots handled.
This was not a leak, not a reconstructed memo, not a whistleblower account. It was the president explaining what he was doing and why, on camera.
The Courts
Forty-seven states sued or joined challenges. Federal judges in Washington, Oregon, and New York issued injunctions. Courts ordered USPS to treat election mail as first-class and to stop the operational changes.
DeJoy suspended the changes — but not the machine removals. The machines that had been destroyed were not coming back.
The Election
Despite everything, most mail ballots were processed. The courts, the pressure, the temporary suspension — collectively enough that the election proceeded. Sixty-five million Americans voted by mail. The results held through 60+ court challenges. The courts rejected every claim of fraud.
Trump's stated goal — preventing widespread mail-in voting — failed. But it was stated. On television. While he was president.
Update log
-
Updated with 2020 election outcome and mail ballot processing results.
Sequence of events
-
DeJoy appointed Postmaster General — no postal background
The USPS Board of Governors appoints Louis DeJoy as Postmaster General. DeJoy has no postal service background. He has donated over $2 million to Republican causes and is a major Trump supporter. Postal unions immediately raise concerns.
-
DeJoy implements operational changes — overtime cut, trucks depart on schedule
DeJoy implements changes eliminating overtime and ordering mail trucks to depart on schedule rather than wait for delayed mail. Mail begins piling up at facilities. First-class delivery performance deteriorates.
-
Sorting machine removal orders accelerated
USPS orders completion of letter sorting machine removals by end of August. Approximately 671 high-speed machines — capable of processing 35,000 pieces per hour each — are targeted. Unions protest; machines that are removed are destroyed or discarded.
-
Trump admits USPS sabotage is deliberate — Fox Business interview
Trump tells Fox Business he is withholding postal service funding specifically because it would enable mail-in voting. The statement is extraordinary: a sitting president on television explaining why he is deliberately degrading a federal agency to affect election outcomes.
-
DeJoy suspends operational changes — under pressure, does not restore machines
DeJoy announces he is suspending operational changes until after the election due to public and Congressional pressure. He does not restore the removed sorting machines. The machines that were destroyed cannot be quickly replaced.
-
Federal court issues preliminary injunction
A federal judge issues a preliminary injunction ordering USPS to stop implementing DeJoy's changes and treat election mail as first-class. 47 states sue or join challenges. Additional injunctions follow in other circuits.
-
2020 election — record mail-in balloting
A record 65+ million Americans vote by mail in the 2020 election. Despite USPS disruptions and court orders, the majority of mail ballots are processed. Trump loses. He subsequently claims mail-in voting was fraudulent — claims rejected by courts in more than 60 cases.
Sources
- Trump Admits He Is Undermining Postal Service to Limit Mail-In Voting — The New York Times
- Inside the USPS: Mail piling up as DeJoy cuts upend operations — The Washington Post
- Postal service mail sorting machines removed before election — The Associated Press
- State of Washington v. Trump (USPS preliminary injunction) — U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington archived ✓