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Pelosi Calls House Back from Recess as Outrage Mounts over Turmoil at USPS

HeadlineAug 17, 2020

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called lawmakers back from summer recess for an urgent vote this week to stop changes at the U.S. Postal Service that could interfere with the upcoming election. On Thursday, President Trump admitted he’s working to undermine the USPS in order to make it harder to vote by mail in November by pushing Republicans to reject a new coronavirus stimulus bill over Democrats’ demands for funding to bolster election security and $25 billion to support the Postal Service. Democrats are demanding Postmaster General Louis DeJoy — a major Trump donor — and other top officials testify before Congress. The internal USPS watchdog is reviewing recent policy changes and DeJoy’s compliance with ethics rules, CNN reported Friday. DeJoy and his wife hold as much as $75 million in assets in competitors or contractors of the Postal Service. And attorneys general from at least six states are considering lawsuits against the Trump administration to prevent it from reducing mail service in the run-up to the elections.

As postal union members and Democratic lawmakers are sounding the alarm over delays in mail and other disruptions, the USPS said Friday it would stop removing mailboxes in the run-up to the election, though reports emerged this weekend of boxes being removed around New York and New Jersey. Last week, the Postal Service sent letters to 46 states and Washington, D.C., warning all mail-in ballots may not get delivered on time. Meanwhile, Vice News reported internal documents show the USPS introduced plans in May to take hundreds of letter-sorting machines out of service.

On Saturday morning, protesters staged a noisy “wake-up call” demonstration outside DeJoy’s Washington, D.C., home, chanting and banging pots and pans.

Helen: “This is openly, blatantly attempting to steal an election. OK? We are going to be voting by mail in such high numbers this year. It’s a safe way to vote. People don’t want to go to the polls in a pandemic. And Donald Trump and Louis DeJoy are saying you can’t vote by mail.”

Protests also took place Sunday outside the Greensboro, North Carolina, residence of Louis DeJoy.

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