Pelosi Calls Lawmakers To Block Changes To Postal Service Before Election

The call from Pelosi comes amid President Trump’s tirade against the Postal Service, which could impede American’s ability to vote by mail.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during her weekly news conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 31, 2020 in Washington, DC. | Getty Images
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during her weekly news conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 31, 2020 in Washington, DC. | Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called House lawmakers back to Capitol Hill this week, amid their annual summer recess, to vote on legislation regarding the U.S. Postal Service, which is currently in crisis. The changes in service to the agency come as President Trump has railed against mail-in voting.

Pelosi called on Sunday for House lawmakers to return later this week in order to vote on Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney’s “Delivering for America Act,” which would preserve the level of service the Postal Service had in January 2020 until the pandemic has ended. A vote on the bill is expected by Saturday, according to multiple reports.

The U.S. Postal Service has reportedly sent letters to 46 states, and Washington, D.C., to warn “it cannot guarantee all ballots cast by mail for the November election will arrive in time to be counted” due to cost-cutting and the associated delivery delays.

“The Postal Service is a pillar of our democracy, enshrined in the Constitution and essential for providing critical services: delivering prescriptions, Social Security benefits, paychecks, tax returns and absentee ballots to millions of Americans, including in our most remote communities,” Pelosi wrote in a letter to colleagues.

“In a time of a pandemic, the Postal Service is Election Central,” the Speaker added. “Americans should not have to choose between their health and their vote.”

Pelosi’s letter coincided with a call from Democrats for top Postal Service officials, including new postmaster general Louis DeJoy, to testify on Capitol Hill this month. DeJoy, a Trump and Republican party mega donor, has made substantial changes to the agency, including overtime cuts, transportation restrictions, and quality reduction. Those changes have coincided with the president’s efforts to impede Postal Service operations and discourage Americans from voting by mail.

Trump has admitted that he opposes Democrats’ proposal for additional funding for the Postal Service, which would make it harder to vote by mail. The president has repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims that vote-by-mail can lead to fraud, even though he and Melania requested mail-in ballots for Florida’s upcoming primary election.

Amid the upheaval at USPS, people have reported mailboxes being removed or locked up in their area, causing panic online, even though the Postal Service announced that it would not remove any mailboxes until after Election Day on November 3.

The backlash against Trump and his tirade against mail-in voting hasn’t only come from Democrats.

In a Friday interview with conservative think tank Sutherland Institute, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, a vocal Trump critic, called out the president’s unsubstantiated claims that mail-in voting is more susceptible to fraud.

"I don't know of any evidence that voting by mail would increase voter fraud," Romney said.

RealClearPolitics associate editor and columnist A.B. Stoddard also called the President’s attack on the post office a “politically boneheaded move” in a Saturday interview with Fox News.

Stoddar said the move could hurt key Republican voters — including veterans, seniors, and people living in rural areas — who need the mail system for medications and social security. She also added that the scheme could hurt Republican lawmakers whose constituents rely on the post office.