By CBSLA Staff
In a statement Tuesday, seemingly in response to the controversy, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said that he would be suspending the cost-cutting measures until after the election.
“To avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded,” DeJoy wrote in part.
“We will deliver the nation’s election mail on time and within our well-established service standards,” DeJoy wrote. “The American public should know that this is our number one priority between now and election day.”
…
The criticism is in response to proposed changes at USPS such as removing mailboxes and mail-sorting machines, which Democrats claim are an attempt by the White House to undermine the November General Election as states are being forced to expand mail-in voting due to the coronavirus.
President Donald Trump has also threatened to withhold funding for USPS.
In Newport Beach on Tuesday, Orange County Congressman Harley Rouda (D-Newport Beach) said he will vote Saturday on a bill to restore postal operations and provide billions in pandemic relief funds.
“Will DeJoy do what he is required to do under law? I’m concerned,” he said. “We have seen the President and administration time after time after time say one thing and do another.”
On Monday, California Reps. Maxine Waters, Jimmy Gomez and Nanette Barragán held a news conference on the issue outside a post office in downtown L.A.
“It is unconscionable that this president would ignore what USPS means to our lives b attacking the institution’s legitimacy while attempting to dismantle the agency in order to rig the election and stop vote by mail,” Waters said.