WASHINGTON (US) – Democratic lawmakers in the US ramped up pressure against a cost-cutting drive by the President Donald Trump-appointed Postal Service chief on Sunday. This comes amid fears that it will hold up mail-in ballots during the presidential poll.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called lawmakers back and several states are contemplating legal measures. Key Democrats in the Congress called on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and another high-ranking official to testify this month during a hearing regarding the slashes that have slowed the delivery of mail.
This has made lawmakers jittery ahead of the presidential election when at least half of the voters are expected to cast ballots by mail. Democrats accuse Trump of trying to cripple the Postal Service in a bid to suppress mail-in voting. The president has repeatedly said that a spike in mail-in ballots would trigger fraud.
There are reports that several Democratic state attorneys are seeking legal action to halt changes to Postal Service. “It is outrageous that Donald Trump would attempt to undermine the U.S. Postal Service for electoral gain,” Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy said, adding that counterparts in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, North Carolina, Washington and other states were conferring.
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said: “There are many states that share this concern about what the president and the postmaster general are doing to the Postal Service, and are reviewing all legal options available to us to protect the integrity of these elections.”
Pelosi said on Sunday she was calling the Democratic-controlled House back to Washington later this week to vote on legislation to protect the Postal Service.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field