Pelosi says postmaster general 'frankly admitted' he won't replace key USPS infrastructure

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is slamming Postmaster General Louis DeJoy for his "misleading" announcement about the USPS after a private conversation.

DeJoy on Tuesday announced he would be suspending operational changes at the United States Postal Service until after the presidential election to "avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail," as Democrats accuse the Trump administration of trying to slow down the USPS ahead of the election, in which mail-in ballots will widely be used.

But Pelosi in a statement on Wednesday said she has spoken privately with DeJoy and communicated that his announcement is "not a solution and is misleading," describing the "alleged pause" as "wholly insufficient" since it "does not reverse damage already wreaked." The House speaker also said DeJoy "frankly admitted that he had no intention of replacing the sorting machines, blue mailboxes, and other key mail infrastructure that have been removed, and that plans for adequate overtime, which is critical for the timely delivery of mail, are not in the works."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

According to The Daily Beast's Sam Stein, Pelosi was not "reading into DeJoy's words" when she said he "frankly admitted" this, with Stein citing an aide as saying, "He said he wasn't going to do it."

House Democrats previously planned to return to vote on Saturday on $25 billion in funding for the USPS, and that plan is still on after DeJoy's announcement. On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the White House is "certainly open to looking at" $25 billion in funding for the USPS, after President Trump previously suggested he was blocking funding requests because without this money, "you can't have universal mail-in voting."