The White House is firing back after 16 plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in Manhattan against President Donald Trump, the United States Postal Service, and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Monday.
“Politically motivated lawsuits are not rooted in giving Americans the power of the vote,” the White House deputy press secretary told the Daily Caller. “As part of recent negotiations, the President offered $10 billion for the Postal Service on top of a $10 billion dollar line of credit which was included in the CARES Act. While Democrats are spreading baseless conspiracy theories about the Trump administration’s assistance to the USPS to score political points, President Trump will continue to work to ensure the security and integrity of our elections.” (RELATED: US Postal Service Warns 46 States About Large-Scale Disenfranchisement)
WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 05: U.S. Postmaster General Louis Dejoy arrives at a meeting at the office of Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) at the U.S. Capitol August 5, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The suit, filed in the Southern District of New York, claims that Trump and DeJoy “have set about to ensure USPS cannot reliably deliver election mail” by blocking the USPS from receiving necessary funds to expand the 2020 election to an all-mail system, Fox News reported earlier on Monday. (RELATED: Postal Service Proposes Removing Some Letter Sorting Machines)
The plaintiffs further argue that “Trump himself is holding up necessary funding for the Post Office,” and that action taken by DeJoy, a Trump loyalist and campaign donor, on the president’s behalf will result in mail-in-ballots not reaching their destination in order to be included in election counting.
A group of 10 state attorneys general are preparing another lawsuit they say could stop DeJoy’s cuts to USPS.
As the country grapples with holding an election in the midst of a global pandemic, conspiracies that the administration is moving to hamper USPS have been widely circulated.
Trump was forced Thursday to say he would approve any funding requested by Democrats to support USPS after seeming to suggest earlier in the day that he refused to negotiate another coronavirus stimulus package in order to block USPS from receiving financial aid ahead of the election. He added that if Congress doesn’t reconvene and reach an agreement on a new stimulus package, he would be open to signing off on USPS aid — and two other fiscal measures — in a series of skinny bills.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced this past weekend that she will reconvene the House this coming Saturday for a vote on USPS aid. DeJoy is also slated to testify before Congress on Monday.