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.
New York Congressman George Santos is now accused of stealing the identities of his political donors, according to a new 23-count indictment that prosecutors filed Tuesday.
A new indictment filed Tuesday charges U.S. Rep. George Santos with stealing the identities of donors to his campaign and then using their credit cards to ring up tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday condemned the militant group Hamas for “sheer evil” for its shocking multipronged attack on Israel launched from the Gaza Strip that has killed hundreds of civilians, including at least 14 American citizens.
More Californians with untreated mental illness and addiction issues could be detained against their will and forced into treatment under a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, a move to help overhaul the state's mental health system and address its growing homelessness crisis.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich lost an appeal Tuesday to be released from jail on espionage charges, meaning he will remain behind bars at least through Nov. 30.
