Schumer, Pelosi Statement On President’s Assault On The Postal Service And Elections

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today issued the following joint statement on President Trump’s latest attacks on vote-by-mail and on the Postmaster General’s policies that have led to a dramatic increase in delayed and undelivered mail:

“The United States Postal Service is a pillar of our American Democracy and is enshrined in the Constitution, which empowers Congress to ‘establish Post Offices and Post Roads.’  The Postal Service provides services that are critical to the lives and livelihoods of the American people: ensuring that seniors receive their medicines, workers receive paychecks, taxpayers receive refunds and voters receive absentee ballots.  Postmaster General DeJoy must quickly reverse his operational changes that have led to delays and service reductions for too many Americans and threaten to undermine our democracy.

“Yet, the President, his cronies and Republicans in Congress continue to wage their all-out assault on the Postal Service and its role in ensuring the integrity of the 2020 election.  Yesterday, the President threatened to further starve the Postal Service of the funds that it needs to deliver the absentee ballots necessary to ensure that people do not have to choose between their health and their vote this fall – threats that he doubled down on last night.

“The President’s comments today affirm that no patriotic tradition is immune from his abuse of power.  The President made plain that he will manipulate the operations of the Post Office to deny eligible voters the ballot in pursuit of his own re-election.  The President’s own words confirm: he needs to cheat to win.

“At the same time, the Postmaster General – a major Trump donor – continues to push forward policies that accelerate the crisis at the Postal Service, delaying mail and jeopardizing the integrity of the elections.   As the former Deputy Postmaster General stated Thursday, the Postmaster General’s changes threaten to silence the voices of millions, as they are implemented in the middle of a pandemic, just months before an election: ‘If you can’t right the ship, if you can’t correct these fast enough, the consequence is… that you disenfranchise people.’  USPS must quickly reverse course and restore full service for all Americans.

“House and Senate Democrats call on the President to immediately cease his assault on the Postal Service, make clear that he will allow the 2020 election to proceed without his sabotage tactics and enable the American people the same opportunity he and the First Lady requested this week to vote by absentee ballot.”

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