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“In towns and cities... there is no more important institution than the local paper.”
Warren Buffett
(NYT) As President Trump continued to try to sow doubts about the election with his latest assault on mail-in balloting, the postmaster general announced Tuesday that he would suspend cost-cutting initiatives at the United States Postal Service until after November.
The announcement by the postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, came amid growing pressure from lawmakers, state attorneys general and civil rights groups, who have warned that the changes being made could disenfranchise Americans casting ballots by mail to avoid long lines during the pandemic. And it came as several states moved forward Tuesday with plans to sue the Trump administration over the election-year changes at the Postal Service.
“There are some longstanding operational initiatives — efforts that predate my arrival at the Postal Service — that have been raised as areas of concern as the nation prepares to hold an election in the midst of a devastating pandemic,” Mr. DeJoy said in a statement.
“To avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded.”
His announcement came as the attorney general of Washington State, Bob Ferguson, said he would lead a coalition of states filing a lawsuit in federal court charging that the changes could undermine the general election in November. Other states, including California, Pennsylvania, and New York also said that they planned to file or join lawsuits.