Postmaster general: Changes sparking concerns over mail delays will be suspended until after election
The USPS chief is halting changes 'to avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced Tuesday that planned U.S. Postal Service operational changes sparking fears of delayed mail deliveries will be postponed until after the election.
"To avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded," DeJoy said in a statement.
DEMOCRATS DEMAND POSTMASTER GENERAL, CHAIRMAN OF USPS TESTIFY ON MAIL-IN BALLOTS
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He continued: "Retail hours at post offices will not change. Mail processing equipment and blue collection boxes will remain where they are. No mail processing facilities will be closed. And we reassert that overtime has, and will continue to be, approved as needed."
Erica Koesler, left, and David Haerle, both of Los Angeles, demonstrate outside a USPS post office, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020, in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
DeJoy also said in the statement that USPS would expand its task force on election mail that works with state and local election officials.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The postmaster general's statement came shortly after 14 state attorneys general announced a federal lawsuit challenging the changes at USPS, alleging the changes could undermine the 2020 election.
A coalition of attorneys general from Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin said Tuesday they would sue the Trump administration over what they described as "drastic" and "unlawful" service reductions.
"Trump attacks on the Postal Service are designed to disrupt the election. They strike at the core of our democracy," Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh said in a statement. "That is bad enough, but Trump and DeJoy are also hurting innocent bystanders: Americans who are waiting for their medicine or their Social Security checks."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Nearly 885,000 paper Social Security checks – 1.2% of the total – are mailed each month, a Social Security Administration official told Fox News.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro also announced a similar multistate lawsuit.
DeJoy is expected to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Friday about the USPS amid the battle over mail-in ballots.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In fiscal year 2019, the USPS had a net loss of $8.8 billion and was $11 billion in debt. It relies on sales of goods and services and does not receive taxpayer dollars.
Fox News' Lillian LeCroy, Ronn Blitzer and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.