Trump taking unusual steps to put its stamp on Postal Service ahead of November election
The Trump administration is making new inroads into the operations of the US Postal Service, raising fears that the agency is degrading services ahead of a surge of votes being cast through the mail in the November election.
As President Donald Trump has launched a relentless attack on vote-by-mail elections, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has inserted himself into the Postal Service's finances and a major Trump donor was selected to lead the USPS -- steps critics warn have opened up the independent government agency to undue political influence.
New Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who took over in June, is under pressure to reverse dramatic cost-cutting measures and prepare the Postal Service for a flood of mail-in ballots this fall. Last week, Mnuchin struck a loan deal with the Postal Service giving him access to details of its 10 biggest service contracts, likely including Amazon -- a move that could give the administration new ammunition to push the USPS to agree to one of Trump's pet projects, raising its shipping prices.
And in another sign of Mnuchin's involvement in the Postal Service's dealings, the Treasury secretary received briefings from the USPS Board of Governors to discuss the appointment of DeJoy as postmaster general earlier this year, a source familiar with the matter told CNN, an irregular arrangement that has not happened in past appointments.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-administration-taking-unusual-steps-to-put-its-stamp-on-postal-service-ahead-of-november-elections/ar-BB17Efip?li=BBnb7Kz
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