Democratic Congresswoman Katie Porter of California has done it again. The plucky progressive with a penchant for percentages went viral for calling out corruption with the help of her trusty white board.
The latest subject of Porter's scrutiny was the United States Postal Service (USPS) and its head: Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
If that name sounds familiar, it's because DeJoy generated national headlines ahead of the 2020 presidential election for changes he enacted that decimated the institution's efficiency and reliability. Americans across the country demanded that DeJoy, who donated $685 thousand to last year's Republican National Convention, be investigated for deliberately interfering with absentee ballots in an election with unprecedented numbers of mail-in votes.
DeJoy—who can only be removed directly by the USPS Board of Governors—hasn't improved the entity's performance following the momentous election, as Porter pointed out.
Watch below.
On-time mail delivery has plummeted under Postmaster Louis DeJoy\u2014forcing veterans to wait longer for prescriptions, seniors to scramble to pay bills without their Social Security checks, and communities to feel less connected.\n\nPostmaster DeJoy needs to go.pic.twitter.com/NxVivkOQZt— Rep. Katie Porter (@Rep. Katie Porter) 1637025581
At a special hearing focused on the results of a USPS audit by its Inspector General, Porter highlighted the plummeting percentage of on-time deliveries largely beginning under DeJoy's tenure.
In comments to the Deputy Assistant IG for the audit, Melinda Perez, Porter said:
"The audit found that by the spring of 2020, mail delivery was right around 92 percent — that is 92 percent of the mail got there within the standard of on time. That dropped to 80 percent by the fall of 2020, and by January of 2021 was hovering around 61 percent. I realize this has gone up somewhat since then, but I wanted to ask you, when did Mr. DeJoy take over as postmaster? Do you know?"
Perez replied that DeJoy started in the Summer of 2020.
Porter continued:
"I'm a professor, and I used to do a lot of grading, and 92 is considered widely like an A-minus, 80 is considered hanging on, hanging on to the lowest possible B. 60 percent is at best a D-minus. The Postal Service delivers 48 percent of the world's mail. It is an institution, it is a civic treasure. And we let it get all the way, what you found, is we let it get all the way down to that D-minus level."
The proof was in the pudding, and social media users agreed that DeJoy needed to depart.
Why the hell isn\u2019t Postmaster Dejoy fired?pic.twitter.com/g4jVJUSmnr— DR. KRUPALI \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@DR. KRUPALI \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1637071552
What Dejoy has done to our postal service should be criminal. I wish we could switch Cruz out for Katie Porter, she\u2019s awesome. \n\n#VetsResist#ResistanceUnitedpic.twitter.com/XJIP1pTALP— Mary (@Mary) 1637071038
De Joy need to get De Can.https://twitter.com/RepKatiePorter/status/1460417254969909259\u00a0\u2026— \ud835\udc13\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc1e LiB (@\ud835\udc13\ud835\udc21\ud835\udc1e LiB) 1637064378
As usual @RepKatiePorter hits the nail on the head. The Post Office delays are disgraceful and louis dejoy and his enablers on the postal board all need to be fired.https://twitter.com/RepKatiePorter/status/1460417254969909259\u00a0\u2026— Bill Pascrell, Jr. (@Bill Pascrell, Jr.) 1637078820
DeJoy needs to be DeJobless and DeJailed.https://twitter.com/repkatieporter/status/1460417254969909259\u00a0\u2026— \ud83c\udf0a sassy-redhead-says-what? \ud83d\udc1e\ud83e\udd89\ud83e\udd8b (@\ud83c\udf0a sassy-redhead-says-what? \ud83d\udc1e\ud83e\udd89\ud83e\udd8b) 1637081966
Meanwhile, they cheered Porter for calling him out.
Katie Porter for President.https://twitter.com/repkatieporter/status/1460417254969909259\u00a0\u2026— Jane again (@Jane again) 1637076194
If Katie Porter gonna do anything, she gonna pull out a chart on yo behind.https://twitter.com/repkatieporter/status/1460417254969909259\u00a0\u2026— AME Youngboy (@AME Youngboy) 1637076035
Louis DeJoy got Katie Porter Whiteboarded SO HARD #FireDeJoyhttps://twitter.com/repkatieporter/status/1460417254969909259\u00a0\u2026— Tara Dublin (Taylor's Version) (@Tara Dublin (Taylor's Version)) 1637080629
And it\u2019s Katie for the win.https://twitter.com/repkatieporter/status/1460417254969909259\u00a0\u2026— CreateArt (@CreateArt) 1637061386
Biden's recently-appointed nominees to the USPS Board of Governors saw Senate confirmation this past summer, strengthening the possibility that the Board—which is now composed equally of Democrats and Republicans—will look at the audit's findings and return DeJoy to sender.