Protests held for Postal Service
Trump downplays alleged postal crisis as a ‘hoax’
Protesters held a rally outside the U.S. Postal Service offices in downtown Mount Clemens Saturday calling for additional support for carriers in light of reductions by the White House administration.
A group of protesters took part in the Save the Post Office Rally at the postal facility on Main Street, which also demanded the resignation of President Donald Trump’s new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
Critics say DeJoy’s decision to remove sorting machines has led to mail delivery delays in several states and could create problems with absentee and mail-in ballots during the November presidential election.
The rally took place as the House approved legislation in a rare Saturday session that would reverse recent changes in U.S. Postal Service operations and send $25 billion to shore up the agency ahead of the November election.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi recalled lawmakers to Washington over objections from Republicans dismissing the action as a stunt. President Donald Trump urged a no vote, including in a Saturday tweet, railing against mail-in ballots expected to surge in the COVID-19 crisis. He has said he wants to block extra funds to the Postal Service.
“Don’t pay any attention to what the president is saying, because it is all designed to suppress the vote,” Pelosi said at the Capitol.
Pelosi called the Postal Service the nation’s “beautiful thread” connecting Americans and said voters should “ignore” the president’s threats.
The daylong session came as an uproar over mail disruptions puts the Postal Service at the center of the nation’s tumultuous election year, with Americans rallying around one of the nation’s oldest and more popular institutions. Millions of people are expected to opt for mail-in ballots to avoid polling places during the coronavirus pandemic.
Ahead of voting the president tweeted, “This is all another HOAX.”
More than two dozen Republicans broke with the president and backed the bill, which passed 257150. Democrats led approval, but the legislation is certain to stall in the GOP-held Senate. The White House said the president would veto it.
Facing a backlash over operational changes, new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy testified Friday in the Senate that his “No. 1 priority” is to ensure election mail arrives on time.
But the new postal leader, a Trump ally, said he would not restore the cuts to mailboxes and sorting equipment that have already been made. He could not provide senators with a plan for handling the ballot crush for the election. DeJoy is set to return Monday to testify before the House Oversight Committee.