WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former official during the Obama administration was named on Tuesday as the new chairman of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) board of governors as Democratic lawmakers press for changes. Ron Bloom, who has been on the board since 2019 and served as a senior Treasury Department official overseeing the restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler, was unanimously elected by the board. Service changes made by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a supporter of then President Donald Trump, came under heavy criticism for delaying deliveries, prompting DeJoy to suspend operational changes ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Bloom said Tuesday the board was working on “a bold and comprehensive plan ... to revitalize the United States Postal Service.” He added it “will further imbed the Postal Service as a vital part of our Government’s critical national infrastructure.” At least two Democratic lawmakers want President Joe Biden to fire the entire postal board. There are three current vacancies on the nine-member board. Under court oversight, USPS delivered and processed more than 135 million blank and completed ballots and said 99.89% were delivered to officials within a week. On average, ballots were delivered from voters to election officials in 1.6 days. Total mail volume surpassed 4.6 billion pieces for both political mail and election mail, up 114% over the 2016 election cycle. USPS Tuesday reported $318 million of income for the quarter ending Dec. 31, delivering a record 1.1 billion holiday season packages. Marketing mail revenue declined by $246 million, or 5.6%, while first-class mail revenue decreased by $177 million, or 2.7%. Shipping and packages revenue increased by $2.8 billion, or 42.1%, on a volume increase of 435 million pieces, or 25%. The Postal Service reported quarterly total revenue of $21.5 billion, an increase of $2.1 billion, or 11.1%, compared to the same quarter in 2019.
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