ATLANTA — Thousands of you are reaching out to 11Alive because of the ongoing postal problems plaguing metro Atlanta.
For some, your prescriptions, your money and important documents are stuck at the United States Postal Service's new facility in Palmetto –- waiting to be processed, after services across the state were consolidated there.
Amid the frustration over mail delays, it's put the postmaster general -- Louis DeJoy -- in the hot seat in the nation's capital.
One of our viewers -- Al -- reached out to the VERIFY team asking about the job.
THE QUESTION
Can the president fire the postmaster general?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
No, the president cannot fire the postmaster general. That power lies with the USPS Board of Governors.
WHAT WE FOUND
At a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington this week, the question about who can appoint and remove the postmaster general actually came up. We heard congressional leaders' concerns about Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's ability to lead -- from both sides of the aisle.
"In my judgment, if you can't fix this in the next couple of weeks, then he's demonstrated his incompetence in this position," Georgia's Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff told 11Alive's Liza Lucas after the hearing.
And Republican Rep. Mike Collins, who represents Athens and much of the region southeast of Atlanta in Congress: "Personally I think this guy is in over his head. He's been over his head and should have already taken that resignation and put it on somebody's desk."
So how is the decision made to actually remove a postmaster general from office? It's up to the Board of Governors which oversees Postal Service operations.
The board is made up of nine people -- the president appoints them and the U.S. Senate confirms them.
Here's a look at the current members.
- There are seven governors, two appointed by former President Donald Trump, Robert M. Duncan and Roman Martinez IV (the board chairman), and five appointed by President Joe Biden: Amber F. McReynolds (the vice chair), Anton G. Hajjar, Derek Kan, Ronald Stroman, and Daniel Tangherlini.
- Then the board also includes the postmaster general himself, DeJoy (appointed by the Board of Governors during the Trump administration), and Deputy Postmaster General Douglas Tulino (who was appointed by DeJoy).
DeJoy joined the Board in June 2020 and launched a 10-year, $10 billion improvement plan for USPS known as "Delivering for America" -- centralized facilities like the new one in Palmetto are an on-the-ground centerpiece of "Delivering for America."
So we can verify -- no, the president cannot fire the postmaster general -- the Board of Governors would need to do that. And so far, the board has shown support for DeJoy and the 10-year plan.
During the Senate committee hearing this week, DeJoy apologized for the mail delivery delays in Georgia and promised we will see improvements in the next 60 days.