Politics
Republican Senator Holds Up Trump's Postal Service Nominees Over Delivery Concerns
Sen. Mike Rounds is blocking four nominees to the USPS Board of Governors until the agency addresses rural mail delays in South Dakota.
The short version
- Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) has placed holds on four of President Trump's Republican nominees to the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors, demanding rural mail delivery reforms.
- Rounds wants the USPS to suspend a program that lengthened rural delivery times, restore one-to-two-day intrastate delivery in South Dakota, and commit to implementing an upcoming Inspector General report.
- The 11-member board directs USPS policy; approving all four nominees would tilt the board in Trump's favor and break traditional bipartisan nomination precedents.
- Rounds' office is actively in talks with the White House, though the holds could lengthen the confirmation process in the Senate.
Key facts
- Sen. Mike Rounds placed holds on all four of President Trump's nominees to the USPS Board of Governors on August 7 over rural mail delivery concerns.[The Hill]
- Two nominees, Jeffrey Brodsky and William Gallo, advanced out of the Senate Homeland Security Committee on party-line votes and are pending a full Senate floor vote.[The Hill]
- Presidents traditionally nominate members to the 11-member USPS Board of Governors in bipartisan pairs, but Trump nominated four Republicans.[The Hill]
- Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Gary Peters, criticized the nominations for lacking postal experience and ignoring minority party consultation.[The Hill]
- Rounds noted that an ongoing USPS Inspector General investigation is expected to release a report in September.[The Hill]
- The Supreme Court lifted a temporary block on a March executive order signed by Trump regarding mail-in voting standards, prompting a new lawsuit from Democratic states.[The Hill]