-An agency that was already struggling before the virus,
is doing even worse now.
-The United States Postal Service
was in the headlines a lot during the early months
of the pandemic and the 2020 election.
-And the postal workers I talked to believe
they can handle a surge.
-From many Americans choosing mail-in ballots --
-A new CNN poll shows
that 10 percent more Americans plan
to cast their ballot by mail as compared to 2016.
-And then President Trump's feeling's about that.
-Take a look at West Virginia, mailmen selling the ballots --
they're being sold, they're being dumped in rivers.
-To the appointment of Louis DeJoy in June 2020.
-I encourage all Americans who choose to vote by mail,
to request their ballots early and to vote early.
-And the delays partially caused by his policies,
the normally non-controversial government body
is under increased scrutiny.
-President Biden is facing a lot of pressure
from congressional Democrats
to make rapid and forceful changes.
For a large group of Democrats,
that starts with getting rid of the Postmaster General.
-How much longer are you planning to stay?
-A long time.
Get used to me.
-And the you do that is you appoint a bunch of new folks
to the board of governors.
Until you have the votes to get rid of him.
-The Postal Service's Board of Governors
is nine members appointed by the President,
confirmed by a simple majority at the Senate.
They run the Postal Service like a board of directors
runs a private company.
They Postal Service is an agency of the federal government,
but it's also supposed to be this independent entity.
-Of the nine seats, three spots are currently vacant.
Biden's nominees have gone through a Senate hearing
and are awaiting their confirmation votes.
-The first is Ron Stroman. He's a Democrat.
He's the recently retired Deputy Postmaster General.
He led the Biden transition
team's agency review team for the Postal Service.
And second is Anton Hajjar.
He's the former general council
to the American Postal Workers Union.
And the third is Amber McReynolds.
Who's a political Independent and she's the chief executive
of the National Vote At Home Institute,
dedicating her life to voter access.
And it signals the President's desire
to leverage the Postal Service
and making it easier for people to vote.
-Expanding voting rights could just be
one priority of the new board,
if these three nominees are confirmed.
But even if all three of Biden's nominees wanted to oust
DeJoy, it might not be that simple.
-Of the six members of the Board of Governors,
four are Republicans, two are Democrats.
The chair of the Board of Governors,
Ron Bloom is a Democrat.
But has come out strongly
in support of the Postmaster General.
And basically said he's my guy
and don't anticipate him losing my support.
And so that would mean they still would not have the votes.
-Biden's nominees were clear about the need
to improve service and restore the public trust
in the Post Office, given the delivery challenges
DeJoy's reforms seemed to create.
-One point, Ron Stroman, one of the more experienced folks
said that commitment
to service starts at the top of the organization.
-It starts, it seems to me, with having a plan to ensure
that you have great service.
That starts from the top of the organization,
and filters down throughout the organization.
-Which was kind of a veiled shot at the Postmaster General.
-We must acknowledge that during this peak season,
we fell far short of meeting our service targets.
-Ousting Louis DeJoy isn't the only reform Democrats
are calling for.
Some see the potential for the Post Office
to do more than just deliver the mail on time.
-The post service
has 30,000 locations all across the country.
And each of these locations can serve,
as a public, non-profit bank
bringing low-cost banking services
to every community in the country.
-The Postal Service has a great opportunity here
to take the lead in combating climate change.
And that's why I'm moving away from combustion
and joint-combustion engines and the emissions they produce,
by investing in a fleet
that's more of an electric state.
-What do we want the Postal Service
to be in the 21st century?
We're entering a period
where everything is testing our assumptions.
At a very basic level, there are folks who say step one
is solving the financial losses.
And solving the service crisis.
-You know, there are some people who would raise that question
on do you manage the Postal Service's decline
or do you re-imagine this agency?