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Friday, March 29, 2024

Judge blocks 'politically motivated' USPS changes

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Judge blocks 'politically motivated' USPS changes
Judge blocks 'politically motivated' USPS changes

A federal judge has blocked controversial changes to the United States postal service, saying they were "a politically motivated attack" that had slowed the nation's mail and likely would slow the delivery of ballots in the upcoming presidential election.

A U.S. federal judge blocked controversial changes to the United States Postal Service, calling them a "politically motivated attack” that would likely delay the delivery of ballots in the upcoming presidential election.

U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian in Washington on Thursday he was issuing a nationwide injunction sought by 14 states in a case against U.S. President Donald Trump, his Postmaster General and the U.S. Postal Service over changes made in July to the post office.

The judge wrote: “The states have demonstrated that the defendants are involved in a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the postal service…” adding, “they have also demonstrated that this attack on the postal service is likely to irreparably harm the states’ ability to administer the 2020 general election.” The states challenged the Postal Service’s so-called "leave behind" policy, which required postal trucks to leave at certain times, regardless of whether mail was loaded.

The states also asked for all election mail to be treated as first-class mail, for the replacement of necessary sorting machines that had been removed, and for the post office to abide by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s commitment to suspend the changes until after the Nov.

3 election.

In the wake of widespread criticism, DeJoy, a Trump donor, said in August that he would halt many of the cost-cutting changes he put in place until after the election when a surge in mail-in ballots is expected because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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