WASHINGTON (AP) -- Postmaster General Louis DeJoy refused requests by Democrats on Monday to restore mail-sorting machines or mailboxes removed from service as part of sweeping operational changes at the Postal Service, despite complaints that the changes are causing lasting damage and widespread delays. Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., told DeJoy at a hearing on Capitol Hill that changes imposed by DeJoy this summer have threatened the reliability of mail service in his state and across the country. "What the heck are you doing?" Lynch asked DeJoy at a sometimes contentious House Oversight Committee hearing. Either through "gross incompetence" or "on purpose," DeJoy is "deliberately dismantling this once-proud institution," Lynch said. DeJoy denied any wrongdoing and accused Lynch and other Democrats of spreading misinformation.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Friday denied any political pressure to undermine mail-in voting for the November election by slowing mail delivery, calling any such suggestion "outrageous." Under questioning before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, DeJoy said he had never spoken to President Trump, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, White House Chief of Staff or any Trump campaign officials about operational changes he has ordered. DeJoy said at his first election mail meeting, he instructed his organization to redouble their efforts. "I was greatly concerned about all the political noise we were hearing," saying weekly reviews were underway before "all the excitement came out. Any insinuation [about undermining on-time delivery] is quite frankly outrageous."

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy arrives at a meeting at the office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on August 5.Alex Wong/Getty Embattled Postmaster General Louis DeJoy testified before the US Senate on Friday that he will not reinstall more than 600 mail sorting machines that have been removed under his leadership. Postal workers say the removal of these machines has contributed to major mail delays that could affect whether mail ballots are counted in the 2020 election. Earlier this week, DeJoy announced that he was halting some planned changes to the USPS until after the election, following public outcry. But he will not reverse steps that he has already taken. "Will you be bringing back any mail sorting machines that have been removed?"

The United States Postal Service today suspended measures that caused mail-delivery delays across the country in recent weeks, including an initiative designed to remove hundreds of mail-sorting machines from active rotation. There are no public plans to reinstate machines that have already been taken offline, but starting today, no additional units will be removed from service until after the US presidential election in November. Vice reported last week that the USPS had begun retiring mail-sorting machines across the country "without any official explanation or reason given," significantly slowing employees' ability to organize and send mail. A total of 671 machines, or 10 percent of the postal service's stock, were scheduled to be taken offline, according to The Washington Post. This was part of a larger initiative to "strengthen the Postal Service" by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who joined the USPS in June after 35 years as an executive at a large supply-chain logistics company.

Postmaster General DeJoy to testify before Senate; American Postal Workers Union president Mark Dimondstein weighs in. "The new Postmaster General has instituted a number of policies that are truly slowing down mail," Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union, told "America's Newsroom" on Tuesday. Dimondstein made the comment in anticipation of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy testifying on Friday about the U.S. Postal Service amid the battle over mail-in ballots before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The hearing comes after congressional Democrats over the weekend demanded DeJoy and the chairman of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors Robert Duncan testify over recent "sweeping and dangerous operational changes" at the agency that they claim are "slowing" the mail and "jeopardizing the integrity of the 2020 election. A source familiar with the plans told Fox News that DeJoy has agreed to appear on Monday. Host Trace Gallagher asked Dimondstein on Tuesday if he believes, as Democrats contest, that DeJoy "is trying to sabotage the election by making cuts that slow down the flow of mail?" "I can't really judge the motivation," he said in response. "We just have to look at the deeds and the deeds thus far is the new Postmaster General has instituted a number of policies that are truly slowing down mail.

The United States Postal Service is reportedly retiring mail sorting machines. According to Postmaster general Louis DeJoy, the agency is in a "dire" financial situation, citing significant falls in mail volume, "a broken business model" and an inadequate management strategy as reasons for the "impending liquidity crisis." Dejoy has been implementing changes since assuming the role in June, including organizational restructuring and a management hiring freeze, saying they're meant to "strengthen the Postal Service." But there appear to be moves that he might have left out. Vice is reporting that the USPS is also retiring mail sorting machines around the country "without any official explanation or reason given."