On Tuesday, U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy yielded to concerns raised by more than 15 Attorneys General [AG] including Maryland’s AG Brian Frosh, relating to DeJoy’s service cuts imposed on Jan. 1, 2020 at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), reversing the newly-imposed policies that have already caused significant delays in service.
Many of the AGs had already joined forces in a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration whom they assert bears the responsibility for policy changes which have included reductions in overtime, restrictions on extra mail transportation trips and new mail sorting and delivery procedures – all of which they assert will impede mail delivery of ballots and other critical mail such as medicines. The suspension which has been met with complaints from citizens throughout the country, will remain in effect until after the election according to DeJoy so as “to avoid appearance of any impact on election mail.”
DeJoy, a top GOP fundraiser and an ally of Donald Trump, had followed the lead of the president, citing the need for the changes in order to increase efficiency and improve profitability. But Trump’s true agenda has not gone unnoticed. Without any evidence, Trump has said that voter fraud has become so prevalent that election results in November could be greatly skewed, given the anticipated increase of absentee ballots, paving the way for his opponent, Joe Biden, to prevail.
In its over 100 years of service, the USPS and its thousands of postal carriers, have been credited with delivering the mail with swift completion, despite the impact of snow, rain, heat or gloom of night. And for the most part, they’ve been able to succeed with a relay-like system that moves the mail across the U.S. and assists postal carriers on their beats.
We salute the astute men and women who have seen through the president’s ineffective smokescreen and forced the postmaster general to make absentee voting a viable means of our making our voice known at the polls this fall when Americans choose the next president.
As New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement on Monday, prior to DeJoy’s decision to stand down, she had decided to join in the federal lawsuit over the cutbacks, calling Trump’s attempt to “interfere” with postal operations an “authoritarian power grab.”
We can only assume that the Democratic-led House of Representatives will no longer need to hold their meeting originally scheduled for Saturday to consider legislation barring changes to Postal Service. Additionally, it seems unlike that DeJoy will be called upon to testify with Congress on Monday, as had been scheduled earlier this weeks, to address the cuts in service and their negative impact on Americans.