President Donald Trump set off a firestorm last week when he suggested that he would not grant the U.S. Postal Service the funding it requested as a means of interfering with the vote-by-mail process.
The reaction was fierce.
"We have to get back to understanding that democracy itself should not be politicized. Democracy means that the people choose who they vote for," Andrea Hailey, CEO of Vote.org, told Cheddar on Monday. "It's the job of election officials to make voting as accessible and as easy as possible."
In the days after the president's remarks, images of the USPS removing mailboxes in different cities caused a frantic stir on social media, although the agency says it was part of routine redistribution. The agency says it will stop the practice for the time being and plans to decommission large-scale mail sorters have also been postponed until after the election.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump appointee who just took the helm at USPS in June, will testify about election concerns before a House committee next week. Hailey expects Congress to grill DeJoy over the various cost-cutting measures that have been instituted since he took over in May.
"People need the post office not only for elections but to receive their medications, to receive their social security checks," Hailey said. "It is essential that we protect the postal service this year."
More than $200 billion may have been stolen from two large COVID-19 relief initiatives, according to new estimates from a federal watchdog investigating federally funded programs that helped small businesses survive the worst public health crisis in more than a hundred years.
Using chainsaws, heavy machinery and controlled burns, the Biden administration is trying to turn the tide on worsening wildfires in the U.S. West through a multi-billion dollar cleanup of forests choked with dead trees and undergrowth.
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that state courts can act as a check on their legislatures in redistricting and other issues affecting federal elections, rejecting arguments by North Carolina Republicans that could have transformed contests for Congress and president.
Ron DeSantis asked a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit from Walt Disney Co. that accused the Florida governor of violating its contract with the state for his recent actions against the company.
Florida Gov. and 2024 presidential candidate Ron DeSantis outlined key immigration policies in Texas on Monday, vowing to end birthright citizenship along with mass detention and deportations.
New Zealand acknowledged it has an aging Boeing 757 so prone to breakdowns they had sent an empty backup to ensure Prime Minister Chris Hipkins didn't get stranded in China, where he is leading a trade delegation.
Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride announced Monday she's running for the U.S. House of Representatives. Already the first openly transgender state senator elected in the country, she'd be the first transgender member of Congress if she wins in November.
