BURLINGTON, Vt., Dec. 23 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Thursday issued the following statement asking President Biden to demand the immediate resignation of Louis DeJoy as Postmaster General of the United States Postal Service:

“Given the serious crisis and total failure of leadership at the United States Postal Service, I am urging President Biden to demand the immediate resignation of Louis DeJoy as Postmaster General.

“By any objective measure, Louis DeJoy, a top campaign contributor of Donald Trump, has been, by far and away, the worst Postmaster General in the modern history of America.

“Since Mr. DeJoy was handpicked by President Trump to serve as Postmaster General in May of 2020, the quality of the Postal Service has been severely undermined. Tragically, the situation has only gotten worse since Mr. DeJoy began implementing his disastrous 10-year plan to substantially slow down mail delivery, cut back on post office hours, shut down mail processing plants, and dismantle mail sorting machines.

“During the busy holiday season, this could not come at a worse time. Not only are millions of people in Vermont and throughout the country not getting their Christmas presents delivered on time, senior citizens have experienced massive delays in receiving the lifesaving prescription drugs they desperately need and working families have been forced to pay late fees because it is taking much longer than normal for the Postal Service to mail their bills.

“The President made the correct decision to begin mailing 500 million at-home COVID tests for any American who requests one. But, given the deterioration of the postal service under Mr. DeJoy, how can anyone have confidence that these life-saving tests will be delivered to the American people in a timely and efficient manner? I think the obvious answer to that question is they cannot.

“Further, it has been well documented that Mr. DeJoy has over a dozen major conflicts of interest due to his financial interests in several companies that have ties to the Postal Service. This includes a $120 million contract that the Postal Service awarded to XPO Logistics in April to operate two sorting and distribution facilities in Atlanta and Washington, DC. Mr. DeJoy was the CEO of XPO’s supply chain business and still holds an investment of at least $30 million in this company.

“The United States Postal Service is a vital part of our economy and our way of life. We need a Postmaster General who will strengthen and expand the Postal Service, not someone who continues to undermine and sabotage it.

“It is long past time for Mr. DeJoy to go.”