Democrats Press for DeJoy to Testify
The House of Representatives will cut short its summer break to consider legislation that would counter changes at the USPS that critics say undermine casting ballots by mail reports The New York Times.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California announced on Sunday that she would call the House back from its annual summer break for a vote this week on legislation to block changes at the Postal Service that voting advocates warn could disenfranchise Americans casting ballots by mail during the pandemic.
The announcement came after the White House chief of staff on Sunday signaled openness to providing emergency funding to help the agency handle a surge in mail-in ballots, and as Democratic state attorneys general said that they were exploring legal action against cutbacks and changes at the Postal Service.
On Sunday, Democrats also called on DeJoy to testify at an urgent Oversight Committee hearing on August 24 to examine his “sweeping operational and organizational changes at the Postal Service” and their impact on mail-in voting. Over the weekend, Trump alleged that Democrats were to blame for the issues the cost-cutting measures could cause for the Postal Service amid the unprecedented influx of ballots.
It comes after the USPS warned that millions of mail ballots may not arrive in time to be counted in the election.
Critics blamed the new USPS head – a loyal supporter of the president – for a slowdown in deliveries.
A record number of people are expected to vote by mail ahead of the 3 November presidential election due to the pandemic.
The president has repeatedly said mail-in ballots will lead to voting fraud and give a boost to his rival Democrat Joe Biden. However, experts say the mail-in voting system, which Mr Trump himself uses, is safe from tampering.
Barack Obama, speaking on a podcast with his former campaign manager David Plouffe also weighed in on the debate saying: “What we’ve seen in a way that is unique to modern political history is a president who is explicit in trying to discourage people from voting,
“What we’ve never seen before is a president say, ‘I’m going to try to actively kneecap the Postal Service . . . and I’ll be explicit about the reason I’m doing it.’”
Obama later also stressed the importance of the USPS in delivering people’s medicine. “They can’t be collateral damage for an administration more concerned with suppressing the vote than suppressing a virus,” he tweeted.
