USPS Paid Millions to Postmaster General DeJoy’s Former Company, Report Says

The U.S. Postal Service paid millions of dollars to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s former company, XPO Logistics, according to a new report. Per The Hill, the payments were part of a contract that had been signed in December. This was prior to DeJoy being named postmaster general, which happened in June. The outlet notes that the newly unearthed records may raise more questions around the many controversial changes that DeJoy has made to the USPS over the past several weeks.

The records were first reported on by The New York Times, who found that in the past 10 weeks, the USPS paid XPO — and its subsidiaries — around $14 million. Subsequently, is was discovered that during the same period in 2019 the USPS paid XPO $3.4 million. It also paid XPO $4.7 million during the same period in 2018. The USPS has been doing business with XPO and its subsidies for some time, and — per records — since 2013 it has paid between $33.7 million to $45.2 million each year to the company. This money is compensation for providing support during high-need times, and for managing transportation.

USPS spokesperson David Partenheimer issued a statement to The Hill, affirming that DeJoy is not part of contract decision, and that he has recused himself from any decisions regarding XPO specifically, so as to follow proper ethics guidelines. “The Postmaster General correctly stated that he has ‘nothing to do with’ XPO’s contracts with the Postal Service,” Partenheimer said. “The contracting officers making contracting decisions about work with XPO are many levels below the CEO on the organization chart.” Partenheimer went on to say that XPO’s contracts “represent a very small part of the Postal Service’s business,” and that it was “not one of our top 50 contractors last year or this year.”

XPO issued a statement as well, saying that the “USPS is a customer, not a competitor.” The company added, “As with all our customers, our objective with the USPS is to support its success. XPO does not deliver parcels to homes, and it’s important to note that if the USPS scales down and performs less of its own service, it will benefit companies that deliver packages to people’s doors, not XPO.”