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Orange County Rep. Katie Porter Grills Postmaster Louis DeJoy Over Delays In Mail Delivery

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — House Democrats grilled Postmaster General Louis DeJoy Monday at a hearing over recent changes to the U.S. Postal Service, including Orange County Rep. Katie Porter — who has garnered a reputation for asking pointed questions.

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Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., (R) questions Postmaster General Louis DeJoy during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on slowdowns at the Postal Service ahead of the November elections on Capitol Hill in Washington,DC on August 24, 2020. (Photo by Tom Williams / POOL / AFP) (Photo by TOM WILLIAMS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Porter started her line of questioning by asking DeJoy about the prices of certain USPS products, including the cost of a first class postage stamp — which he knew — the cost of mailing a postcard and the price for a square envelope — neither of which he could answer.

"I'll submit that I know very little about a postage stamp," DeJoy said.

Porter then asked if DeJoy knew how many people voted by mail in the last presidential election, which he could not answer.

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"I'm glad you know the price of a stamp, but I'm concerned about your understanding of this agency," Porter said. "And I'm particularly concerned about it because you started taking very decisive action when you became postmaster general."

Porter claimed that DeJoy, in his role as postmaster general, started "directing the unplugging and destroying of machines, changing of employee procedures and locking of collection boxes."

DeJoy said that he did not order major overhaul plans and said that there were plans in the process of implementation prior to his appointment as postmaster general, though he did not specify which plans those were or who ordered them — despite multiple questions by Porter.

However, DeJoy said he would accept responsibility for service delays and interruptions that have happened since his June 16 appointment.

"I take responsibility from the day I sat in this seat for any service deterioration that has occurred," DeJoy said. "You're asking about operational changes that go on throughout the whole organization around the country."

Though he said that he would not commit to reversing recent changes that have caused massive delays in delivery of items, including medications.

See Porter's full line of questioning below:

Rep. Porter grills the Postmaster General by Rep. Katie Porter on YouTube
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