President Donald Trump said in an interview on Fox Business Network on Thursday that he opposes injecting new funding into the U.S. Postal Service because he believes it will support mail-in voting come November.
"They [the Democrats] want three-and-a-half billion dollars for something that'll turn out to be fraudulent — that's election money basically," Trump said.
Congressman Ami Bera (D-Calif. 7th District) told Cheddar that Trump's statement reflects a transparent effort to undermine democracy by allowing the post office to go underfunded as it prepares for a potential surge in mail-in ballots.
"Kudos to the president for being honest," he said. "We knew all along that he was trying to undermine the Postal Service to try to win the election."
Bera said Democrats will continue to "use the bully pulpit" to support postal employees, and push for additional funding in the Phase 4 coronavirus relief bill, which appears nowhere near passing according to congressional leaders.
"We will continue to try to push funding there," Bera said. "We'll continue to shine the light on this."
The congressman pointed out that many of Trump's own voters are elderly, living in states that are especially hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and that denying funding to the Postal Service could have unintended consequences for both parties.
"He may unintentionally suppress his own votes," Bera said.
Almost four dozen Venezuelan workers who had temporary protected status have been put on leave by Disney after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to strip them of legal protections.
American businesses that rely on Chinese goods are reacting with muted relief after the U.S. and China agreed to pause their exorbitant tariffs on each other’s products for 90 days. Many companies delayed or canceled orders after President Donald Trump last month put a 145% tariff on items made in China. Importers still face relatively high tariffs, however, as well as uncertainty over what will happen in the coming weeks and months. The temporary truce was announced as retailers and their suppliers are looking to finalize their plans and orders for the holiday shopping season. They’re concerned a mad scramble to get goods onto ships will lead to bottlenecks and increased shipping costs.
The Trump administration announced a trade deal with the United Kingdom Thursday in grandiose terms, but with only limited details about what it achieves.
