Trump’s grudge against the US Postal Service is a threat to the US election – By Ephrat Livni (Quartz) / April 13 2020
The US Postal Service (USPS) is in financial trouble. It’s losing about $2 billion a month as mail marketers halt campaigns due to the sudden pandemic-induced economic meltdown.
Yet the federal agency is more essential than ever, delivering mail to the most remote American addresses. And it will only become more critical as the November presidential election approaches and mail-in voting grows more appealing.
Still, USPS can’t seem to catch a break even as the federal government pushes hundreds of billions of dollars in economic stimulus funds into major industries and small businesses.
Lawmakers say that without serious help, USPS only has enough money to last through about September. Although USPS couriers are famously committed to completing their rounds despite snow, rain, heat, gloom of night—or the coronavirus crisis—they might have finally met their match in US president Donald Trump.
Trump reportedly threatened to stall any stimulus package providing money to the mail service, which is enshrined in the Constitution. The $2.2 trillion CARES Act, passed in late March, included a $10 billion US Treasury-backed loan to USPS over treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin’s objections. However, that loan hasn’t yet been approved and it was offered instead of a $13 billion direct grant initially proposed by legislators.
Continue to article: https://qz.com/1836901/trump-grudge-against-us-postal-service-is-a-threat-to-us-election/
