1. Who was the board member that stepped aside so Trump could appoint Bloom?
Each one of the slots (except the Postmaster and Deputy Postmaster) have a set 7 year term (staggered with the terms of other Governors) but not all of the appointees will stay the full term. So if someone leaves "early", they can be replaced with someone who will serve out the slot's term.
After Democrats lost the Senate in 2014, there were a myriad of situations where Obama's appointees were blocked - either by Turtle or by "holds" put on by various Senators including
some by both Susan Collins and Bernie Sanders (and for Sanders, notably due to objections to the nominees by the Postal unions that he agreed with).
Since at some point, there were only 3 operational Governors until 2019, the slot might have been Dennis J. Toner (who had served out a term until 2012), and if left vacant, that would have been open for a re-up appointment in 2019 (even if it had been vacant all that time).
2. What is the authority for a "HOLDOVER YEAR" for a presidential appointee? Is there precedent?
It's codified in the statue -
39 U.S. Code § 202 - Board of Governors
(a)
(1) The exercise of the power of the Postal Service shall be directed by a Board of Governors composed of 11 members appointed in accordance with this section. Nine of the members, to be known as Governors, shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, not more than 5 of whom may be adherents of the same political party. The Governors shall elect a Chairman from among the members of the Board. The Governors shall represent the public interest generally, and shall be chosen solely on the basis of their experience in the field of public service, law or accounting or on their demonstrated ability in managing organizations or corporations (in either the public or private sector) of substantial size; except that at least 4 of the Governors shall be chosen solely on the basis of their demonstrated ability in managing organizations or corporations (in either the public or private sector) that employ at least 50,000 employees. The Governors shall not be representatives of specific interests using the Postal Service, and may be removed only for cause. Each Governor shall receive a salary of $30,000 a year plus $300 a day for not more than 42 days of meetings each year and shall be reimbursed for travel and reasonable expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Board. Nothing in the preceding sentence shall be construed to limit the number of days of meetings each year to 42 days.
(2) In selecting the individuals described in paragraph (1) for nomination for appointment to the position of Governor, the President should consult with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the minority leader of the House of Representatives, the majority leader of the Senate, and the minority leader of the Senate.
(b)
(1) The terms of the 9 Governors shall be 7 years, except that the terms of the 9 Governors first taking office shall expire as designated by the President at the time of appointment, 1 at the end of 1 year, 1 at the end of 2 years, 1 at the end of 3 years, 1 at the end of 4 years, 1 at the end of 5 years, 1 at the end of 6 years, 1 at the end of 7 years, 1 at the end of 8 years, and 1 at the end of 9 years, following the appointment of the first of them. Any Governor appointed to fill a vacancy before the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed shall serve for the remainder of such term. A Governor may continue to serve after the expiration of his term until his successor has qualified, but not to exceed one year.
(2) No person may serve more than 2 terms as a Governor.
(snip)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/39/202
3. Should we assume that Bloom will be gone after his holdover year expires?
Most likely.
= new reply since forum marked as read
