THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE is embroiled in a growing crisis that has escalated just months before a presidential election in which millions of voters are expected to mail in their ballots.
The dispute has become one of the hottest political issues heading into the fall campaign season. At the center are allegations that the Trump administration is depriving the Postal Service of needed funding ahead of the election for political reasons.
President Donald Trump is opposing billions in funding for the Postal Service. The president last week linked his opposition to the funding with his opposition to mail-in voting, acknowledging that the Postal Service would not be able to process the coming influx of mail-in ballots without the cash – a position the agency has pushed back on.
He has since expressed a willingness to negotiate on the issue as part of a larger coronavirus relief package, but his actions thus far have inspired accusations that he is sabotaging the service to suppress voter participation during an election in which a record number of people are expected to vote by mail because of concerns about the pandemic.
The cash-strapped agency was hit hard by the outbreak of the virus, and cost-saving measures implemented by Louis DeJoy, the new postmaster general, have led to service delays.
