Pelosi Asks House To Return This Week To Save USPS From Trump

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., sent an urgent letter Sunday to all members of the House, enjoining them to return to session this week to save the embattled U.S. Postal Service (USPS), and possibly the November election, from President Donald Trump.

Pelosi said House members will likey vote Aug. 22 on the “Delivering for America Act” that prohibits postmaster general Louis DeJoy, a Trump fundraiser and appointee, from implementing his proposed changes to USPS operations or the level of service it had in place on Jan. 1, 2020.

The bill was authored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chair of House Committee on Oversight and Reform. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., urged Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to reconvene the Republican-controlled Senate to act on Maloney's bill.

Pelosi accused DeJoy, whom she described as "one of the top Trump mega-donors," of being a "complicit crony" in Trump's unvarnished attempt "to sabotage the election by manipulating the Postal Service to disenfranchise voters."

Trump and DeJoy are rapidly implementing sweeping new "operational changes," said Pelosi, claiming the moves are designed to degrade the postal service and delay the mail. Pelosi said DeJoy's restructuring "threatens to deny the ability of eligible Americans to cast their votes through the mail in the upcoming elections in a timely fashion."

Last weekend, DeJoy acknowledged to USPS staff in a memo that his abrupt operational changes triggered “unintended consequences,” or delays, in delivering the mail. USPS also warned 46 states it cannot guarantee all mail-in ballots for the Nov. 3 election will arrive in time to be counted.

DeJoy is the first postmaster in two decades without prior experience in the USPS or postal operations. He was mostly involved in the logistics and supply chain sector in his career. Before his appointment as postmaster general, he was president of his own firm, LDJ Global Strategies, a North Carolina firm involved in real estate, private equity and consulting.

DeJoy, however, is a top Trump donor, raising alarm bells that the changes to USPS could be rooted in politics. Protesters surrounded his home over the weekend to show their unhappiness.

Trump has repeatedly claimed widespread mail-in voting will rob him of victory in November. On Aug. 13, Trump blatantly admitted to Fox Business he's blocking additional funding and election assistance for USPS to sabotage mail-in voting. The day before, Trump said he won't sign any coronavirus relief bill from Congress that includes emergency federal funds for USPS and more money to process election-related mail.

"They want $25 billion -- billion -- for the post office," said Trump. "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. But if they don't get those two items, that means you can't have universal mail-in voting."

In her letter, Pelosi also said "Lives, livelihoods and the life of our American Democracy are under threat from the President."

"To save the Postal Service, I am also calling upon Members to participate in a Day of Action on Tuesday by appearing at a Post Office in their districts for a press event."