Fact Check: Do Republicans Want to Sabotage the Post Office Before The Election? #USPSSabotage

The New York Times reports that the U.S. Postal service (USPS) will shut down prior to the November 3rd election. Trucks are rounding up mail boxes, says the New York Times, just before an election where people have to vote by mail.

President Donald Trump has also publicly criticized the efficiency and honesty of voting by mail, which is believed to advantage Democrats.

#USPSSabotage is trending on Twitter. And that package I ordered never seems to arrive.

Is the Trump Administration trying to sabotage the USPS before the 2020 national election?

Answer: No. The Post Office is busier than usual because of the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, they find it difficult to recruit and maintain personnel, say several post office employees to whom we spoke. (Don't call them "Mailmen"--they prefer letter carriers).

Finally, Congress has not appropriated additional monies for overtime, which is much needed and something they will no doubt ultimately do when we get past the politics of the moment.

Walking door to door, touching doorknobs and mailboxes is believed by some to expose them to Covid-19. Who wants to do that right now?

"My husband has worked for 27 YEARS for USPS, and TODAY delivered over 300 parcels all by himself. .... and that is not including the 1st class mail," writes Lavonne.

"Everyone being home (and bored) are buying stuff on-line, so it slows delivery. It is not intentional."

"He had to go back to the office three times to deliver that kind of magnitude of mail. He is over-worked; does not get home until after 8PM, every night."

"By the Way in Santa Clarita where tomorrow it will be 108 degrees and no A/C in that Mail-truck (like your car has). And that is where a really big fire is. So just be patient and be thankful, and shut up already! Good grief; spoiled children!"

Did the president actually say that he will not fund the post office or will withhold funds, in order to prevent voting by mail? Nope.

“They need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,” Trump said in an interview with Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo. “If they don’t get those two items, that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting because they’re not equipped to have it.”

He was referring to negotiations over the latest Covid-19 bailout package. Totalling $3 trillion, Congressional Democrats are seeking money to bailout municipal and state governments, and the post office. The President wants money for police and fire, and other first responders, and not so much for cities.

The bill has stalled over several items, and includes an additional $25 billion to the USPS to fund collection of mail in ballots. Trump didn't specifically withhold or veto the money, though again he has repeatedly criticized the USPS this year. A Trump appointee runs the USPS, and he has basically eliminated overtime without the funding in place.

The United States Postal Service (USPS; also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service) is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the United States, including its insular areas and associated states. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service