{"id":14599,"date":"2020-05-14T09:41:18","date_gmt":"2020-05-14T16:41:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=14599"},"modified":"2020-05-14T09:41:20","modified_gmt":"2020-05-14T16:41:20","slug":"vote-by-mail-under-existential-threat-as-top-us-postal-service-official-reportedly-forced-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2020\/05\/14\/vote-by-mail-under-existential-threat-as-top-us-postal-service-official-reportedly-forced-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Vote-by-Mail Under ‘Existential Threat’ as Top US Postal Service Official Reportedly Forced Out"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

May 13, 2020 by Common Dreams<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Trump is intent on installing his partisan lackeys in control of the Postal Service while congressional Republicans try to force it into insolvency so they can privatize it.”<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

by Jake Johnson, staff writer<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 17 Comments<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ronald Stroman attends the Sarah Vaughan Stamp Unveiling Celebration on March 29, 2016 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo: Bennett Raglin\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deputy Postmaster General Ronald Stroman has reportedly been forced out of his position<\/a>, throwing the leadership of the U.S. Postal Service into further chaos as the agency faces a potentially catastrophic financial crisis and efforts by Trump administration officials to impose draconian changes<\/a> on the nation’s most popular government institution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Stroman was specifically key on elections and vote by mail\u2014this is not a good sign.”
\u2014Jessica Huseman, ProPublica<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The American Prospect<\/em>‘s David Dayen reported<\/a> Tuesday that Stroman resigned from his post earlier this week. “Sources indicate that Stroman was forced out,” Dayen tweeted<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports of Stroman’s ouster came less than a week after the USPS Board of Governors announced<\/a> its selection of Louis DeJoy\u2014a leading donor to the Republican Party and President Donald Trump\u2014to serve as postmaster general as the agency continues to navigate the Covid-19 crisis, which has resulted in a precipitous decline in mail volume. Current USPS chief Megan Brennan, who is retiring effective June 15, has warned<\/a> Congress that the agency could face financial ruin by the end of September without a rapid infusion of emergency funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DeJoy will choose the next deputy postmaster general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are sounding an alarm regarding the departure of Ronald Stroman from the Postal Service,” Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said in an emailed statement. “The Postal Service lies at the heart of democracy and is critical to the success of an unprecedented vote by mail system that is needed for an effective 2020 election season.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Postal Service is also a lifeline for vulnerable people who are counting on mail delivery for medication, stimulus payments,and more,” said Clarke. “Stroman’s untimely departure signals deepening chaos and disruption inside the Postal Service at a critical moment during the 2020 election season.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n