Mr. Partenheimer did not respond to questions about whether Mr. Pastre had accepted the Postal Service’s offer, how much the job would pay or when he might start. Mr. Pastre also did not respond to requests for comment.
After inquiries from The New York Times, Mr. Pastre deleted his account on Twitter, where he had previously posted messages supporting the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Mr. Trump long assailed, and which his administration later renegotiated.
Mr. Pastre has not donated to Mr. Trump, although during the Trump presidency, he has contributed to Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, and Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the minority leader. He also donated in 2003 to Hillary Clinton’s Senate campaign, though the majority of his federal donations were to the MetLife PAC.
A listing for the position offered to Mr. Pastre — vice president for government affairs and public policy — indicates that the holder of the job will represent the Postal Service in dealings with state and local officials, as well as the federal executive branch and Congress. In addition to questions about voting by mail, among the issues confronting the Postal Service on Capitol Hill is a fight between Democrats and Republicans over additional financial relief for the agency.
Ultimately, Mr. DeJoy had the final say in Mr. Pastre’s selection, announcing the decision to extend the job offer at a meeting on Wednesday of the Postal Service’s board of governors, according to people familiar with the situation.
Mr. DeJoy has been under fire from Democrats for months, most recently over allegations that he cultivated an environment at his former North Carolina company in which some employees felt pressured to donate to Republican candidates, and rewarded them with bonuses for doing so. Common Cause North Carolina filed a complaint on Wednesday with the State Board of Elections, and Josh Stein, the North Carolina attorney general, is seeking an investigation into the allegations.
The added pressure on Mr. DeJoy came as the Postal Inspection Service, the agency’s federal law enforcement and security arm, said it was investigating another concern: reports of mail-dumping in Glendale, Calif., last week. Piles of mail were reportedly dumped in two locations in the city, including one incident in which a rental truck was caught on surveillance video dumping bags of unopened letters and packages in the parking lot of a medical spa.