Trump opposes more funding for post office
For Democrats, president’s remarks are a clear admission that the White House intends to restrict mail-in voting rights.
PresidentDonald Trump declared Thursday that he opposes additional funding for the U.S. Postal Service, acknowledging that his position would starve the agency of money Democrats say it needs to process an anticipated surge in mail-in ballots during the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump also claimed that Democrats were pushing for universal mail-in voting and predicted that mail-in voting would lead to massive voter fraud in the November election. Polls indicate Trump is in for a close reelection fight against Democrat Joe Biden.
The Republican president said on Fox Business Network that among the big sticking points for a new congressional virus relief package were the Democrats’ demands for billions of dollars to assist states in protecting the election and to help postal workers process mail-in ballots.
Trump said on “Mornings with Maria,” “They need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots.” He added, “If they don’t get those two items, that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting because they’re not equipped to have it.”
Biden, responding during a meeting in Delaware on the coronavirus, told reporters the comments were, “Pure Trump. He doesn’t want an election.”
A record numbers of mail-in ballots is expected. The agency’s new leader, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a major donor to Trump and other Republicans, has instituted operational changes that have allegedly led to delivery delays across the U.S.
Democrats claimed that Trump’s new remarks were an admission that the president is attempting to restrict voting rights.
“The President of the United States is sabotaging a basic service that hundreds of millions of people rely upon, cutting a critical lifeline for rural economies and for delivery of medicines, because he wants to deprive Americans of their fundamental right to vote safely during the most catastrophic public health crisis in over 100 years,” Biden spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.
Negotiations over a new virus relief package have all but ended, with the White House and congressional leaders far apart on the size, scope and approach for shoring up households, reopening schools and launching a national strategy to contain the coronavirus.
While there is some common ground over $100 billion for schools and new funds for virus testing, Democrats also want other emergency funds that Trump rejects.
“They want $3.5 billion for something that will turn out to be fraudulent. That’s election money, basically,” Trump said Thursday.
Democrats have pushed for $10 billion for the Postal Service in talks with Republicans on a huge COVID-19 response bill. That figure, which would include money to help with election mail, is down from a $25 billion plan in a Housepassed coronavirus measure.
DeJoy, who was tapped to head the Postal Service by a Trump-appointed board of governors and started in June, has said that the agency is in a financially untenable position, but he maintains that it can handle this year’s election mail. He is the first postmaster general in nearly two decades who is not a career postal employee.
“Although there will likely be an unprecedented increase in election mail volume due to the pandemic, the Postal Service has ample capacity to deliver all election mail securely and on-time in accordance with our delivery standards, and we will do so,” he told the Postal Service’s governing board last week.
Memos show that Postal Service leadership has pushed to eliminate overtime and halt late delivery trips that are sometimes needed to ensure mail arrives on time, measures that postal workers and union officials claim are delaying service. Additional records detail cuts to hours at post offices, including reductions on Saturdays and during lunch hours.
Democrats, and a handful of Republicans, have sent DeJoy several letters asking him to reverse his changes and criticizing what they say is a lack of openness by he agency. Late Wednesday, Senate Democrats again wrote DeJoy, this time saying he is pushing state election officials to opt for pricier first-class postage for mail-in ballots to be prioritized.
“Instead of taking steps to increase your agency’s ability to deliver for the American people, you are implementing policy changes that make matters worse, and the Postal Service is reportedly considering changes that would increase costs for states at a time when millions of Americans are relying on voting by mail to exercise their right to vote,” the Democrats wrote.