'You have not delivered!' Democrats skewer Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and say top Trump donor's policy changes have delayed people's vital medications and cost Americans their livelihoods – but he calls it his 'sacred duty' to deliver ballots

Democrats tore into Postmaster General Louis DeJoy at the start of his first appearance at a congressional hearing since the furor over of his policy changes that they warned are endangering Americans and harming businesses.

'The Postal Service has always delivered. But Mr. DeJoy, I don't think you have. You have not delivered in this brief tenure,' scolded Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. 

'In less than two months as Postmaster General, you have undermined one of our nations most trusted institutions,' he fumed. 

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'The Postal Service is fully capable and committed to delivering the nation's election mail securely and on time,' Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told a Senate panel Friday

He said new changes brought delays that have 'hurt people across the nation.'

'Your decisions have cost Americans their health, their time, their livelihoods and their peace of mind,' Peters told him at the start of a remote hearing.

He pointed to a number of policy changes – which DeJoy testified predated his arrival – as endangering his tenure.  

'If you plan to continue pursuing these kinds of changes, I think my colleagues, and many of our constituents, will continue to question whether you are the right person to lead this indispensable public institution,' he said. 

He said he has received 7,500 reports of mail delays, including from a girl named Mary who couldn't get her epilepsy meds on time. 

DeJoy in his remarks tried to shoot down Democratic howls that he was deliberately overseeing an effort to sabotage the mail amid President Trump's furious attacks on mail-in ballots.

'As we head into the election season, I want to assure this committee and the American public. The Postal Service is fully capable and committed to delivering the nation's election mail securely and on time. This sacred duty is my number one priority between now and election day,' he said.

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DeJoy said the Postal Service is 'fully capable and committed to delivering the nation's election mail securely and on time'

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DeJoy said there has been a drop in mail volume, and that the removal of postal machines and mail boxes was put in place before the start of his tenure

Panel chair Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who is also overseeing a probe into the FBI during the Russia investigation, backed up DeJoy, who said he did not concoct any kind of deliberate plan to take mail sorting machines out of commission and remove mail boxes to impact the mail for the elections.

'I was made aware when everybody else was made aware,' said DeJoy, who only began his post this summer.

'So this isn't some devious plot on your part,' Johnson responded.

Johnson defended DeJoy, citing his 'commendable attempt to reduce those excess costs that are now being cynically used to create this false political narrative.' 

Republican Sen. Rob Portman asked DeJoy point-blank whether he supported vote-by-mail – a practice President Trump has attacked. Trump says he backs absentee voting, but has railed against widespread efforts to send out ballots or ballot-request forms.

'I do,' DeJoy responded. 'I think the American public should be able to vote by mail and the Postal Service will support it, so I guess that’s yes.'

Lawmakers aggressively questioned DeJoy in his first appearance before Congress on Friday about recent cost-cutting measures that Democrats say appeared to be an attempt to boost President Donald Trump's re-election chances.

Under pressure from the public and lawmakers, DeJoy on Tuesday suspended all mail service changes until after the Nov. 3 election. Critics feared they would interfere with mail-in balloting, which is expected to be much more widely used amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump has repeatedly and without evidence said that an increase in mail-in ballots would lead to a surge in fraud, although Americans have long voted by mail.

The Republican chairman of the Senate committee holding Friday's hearing, Ron Johnson, will defend DeJoy in his opening statement, citing his 'commendable attempt to reduce those excess costs that are now being cynically used to create this false political narrative.'

Democrats will want to know whether DeJoy plans to undo changes to the mail made in recent weeks. Changes that threatened to slow mail delivery - and in some cases, already have - include reductions in overtime, restrictions on extra mail transportation trips, and new mail-sorting and delivery policies, enacted in an attempt to cut costs.

DeJoy, who has also agreed to testify before the Democratic-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Monday, will testify before the Republican-led Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Friday.

While criticism from Democrats is expected, any signs that Republican senators are unhappy with DeJoy's cost-cutting efforts could suggest his tenure as postmaster general is at risk. DeJoy, a major political donor and ally of Trump, assumed the job in June.

A group of 90 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday called on the Postal Service's board of governors to immediately remove DeJoy 'to protect this critical institution,' according to a letter sent to board members.

The House is set to vote on a bill on Saturday that would provide $25 billion in funding for the Postal Service and require the reversal of operational changes. (Reporting by Chris Sanders; Editing by Peter Cooney)