Interest groups urge Biden not to reappoint Bloom to second term on USPS board of governors

By Bill McAllister, Washington Correspondent

A coalition of 77 public interest groups has urged President Joe Biden not to reappoint Ron Bloom to a second term on the United States Postal Service’s board of governors.

A Democrat who was named to the board in 2019 by President Donald Trump and is currently board chairman, Bloom is in the final months of his term, which will end on Dec. 8.

What has riled the groups about Bloom’s role has been his unwavering support for Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Republican Party supporter and former logistics executive, who was selected for the top postal job by a board filled with Trump appointees.

In an Oct. 8 letter to Biden, the groups urged the president not to “reward this failed leadership with a new term.”

“Instead, please take this opportunity to correct the course of the Postal Service’s future by moving expeditiously to nominate a replacement for Mr. Bloom who will be forward-looking and more representative of the postal workforce, and will not rubber-stamp the disastrous policies of Mr. DeJoy, ” the group said.

The group appeared to be formed around the Save the Post Office Coalition, which includes more than 300 organizations. Among these are Public Citizen, MoveOn, the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP.

The White House has not said whether the president will reappoint any of the Trump postal board members.

The term of John M. Barger of California, another Trump-appointed postal governor, also will expire on Dec. 8.

Separately, Biden did say on Oct. 6 he intends to nominate Postal Regulatory Commission chairman Michael Kubayanda for a full six-year term on that panel. 

Kubayanda joined the commission in January 2019 and was designated by Biden as chairman in January 2021.

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