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- The U.S. Postmaster-General has walked back broad cuts to the postal service amid outcry from Democrats and the wider public
- Louis DeJoy had executed cuts to overtime hours, as well as reductions to the number of mailboxes and sorting machines across the country
- But, further cuts would now be postponed until after the election “to avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail”
- Millions of voters face disenfranchisement if mail-in votes can’t be lodged in time due to failures in the postal service
- Congress is being recalled on Saturday to vote on a standalone US$25 billion funding bill for the service, which aims to reverse the changes already made and provide additional money to support mail-in voting come election time
- However, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said it’s unlikely the bill will pass
U.S. Postmaster-General Louis DeJoy has walked back broad cuts to the postal service amid outcry it would disenfranchise millions of voters in the upcoming Presidential election.
Democrats across the nation had accused the Postmaster-General — a donor to the Trump campaign — of removing vital postal infrastructure ahead of the November 3 poll in an attempt to firm up President Donald Trump’s re-election chances.
Backflip
The Postmaster-General had already planned and executed cuts to overtime hours, as well as reductions to the numbers of mailboxes and sorting machines across the country since his appointment in June.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Louis said further cuts would be postponed until after the election “to avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail.”
His announcement explicitly stated no more overtime would be cut and operational infrastructure would remain in place. However, he made no mention of the dozens of sorting machines and mailboxes that had already been removed across the country.
But, the changes didn’t please Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said “this pause only halts a limited number of the Postmaster’s changes, it does not reverse damage already done, and alone is not enough to ensure voters will not be disenfranchised by the President this fall.”
She argued many people see the Postmaster’s efforts to strip the post office as a power-grab, and a dangerous measure for anyone who relies on it for medication or other essential services.
“The Post Office, really in this time of coronavirus, is election central,” she said.
“And that’s why they are trying to disrupt it in such a blatant way. But they hit a nerve,” she added.
Blow-up
The situation ignited after President Trump admitted the service wouldn’t be funded in order to restrict its ability to handle millions of mail-in ballots, which he believes could be fraudulent or tampered with, jeopardising the election result.
“They want $25 billion for the Post Office,” the President said to Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business, speaking about a Democrat-led stimulus bill to better fund the post service.
“Now they need that money in order to have the Post Office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots … Now, if we don’t make a deal, that means they don’t get the money. That means they can’t have universal mail-in voting, they just can’t have it,” he added.
Many have called this an attack on voters’ rights at a time when in-person voting is dangerous due to the risk of COVID-19 infection.
But, Trump maintains mail-in votes can’t be trusted, while his advisors and allies have said the President won’t pass the postal funding arrangements as long as they’re stapled to the rest of the Democrats’ US$3.5 trillion stimulus package.
The Republicans have put forward a US$1 billion package, and the two sides have been at an impasse over the funding bills.
Pelosi will recall Congress on Saturday to vote on a standalone US$25 billion funding bill for the service, which aims to reverse the changes already made and provide additional money to support mail-in voting come election time.
Passing the bill in the House is only the first step though. The odds of getting it through the Senate are slim at best, as it is Republican-controlled.
“I don’t think we’ll pass, in the Senate, a postal-only bill,” Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, speaking to the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Backlash
Following the cuts and debate over mail-in voting, a number of high-profile Democrats, including Senator Bernie Sanders, have called for the Postmaster-General’s resignation.
As many as 20 states are also planning to sue the Trump administration over the cuts and the furore has only been amplified at the Democratic Convention this week.
Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democratic senator from Nevada, accused the President of risking American lives in his re-election bid.
“[The President] is putting the lives of Nevada’s seniors at risk by trying to defund the post office. Here’s what that means: seniors won’t be able to get their prescriptions because he wants to win an election,” Ms Masto said.
But President Trump is, of course, unfazed by the Democratic backlash, tweeting that the postal service must change.
.@Amazon, and others in that business, should be charged (by the U.S. Postal System) much more per package, and the Post Office would be immediately brought back to “good health”, now vibrant, with ALL jobs saved. No pass on to customers. Get it done!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 18, 2020
