During an interview with Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” on Monday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) reacted to the House of Representatives passage of a U.S. Postal Service bill that if passed would place restrictions on changes made to mail delivery protocol and give the USPS an additional $25 billion in funding.
Hawley called the gesture and effort to “weaponize” the USPS.
“What’s happening here is the Democrats are just trying to weaponize the postal service, Brian,” he said. “I mean, that’s all there is to it. We had a hearing – the Senate had a hearing on Friday in the Homeland Security Committee that I sit on with the Postmaster. He said they’ve got the money. They’ve got the manpower. They’ve got the resources to deliver the mail safely and on time through the election.”
“The Postmaster has already said he won’t implement any reforms or measures that will slow down the mail between now and November,” Hawley continued. “And what they need – what the post office needs is long-term reform, but the Democrats aren’t interested in any of that. This is all an attempt to attack the president, to weaponize the postal service, and we just can’t allow it.”
The Missouri lawmaker reminded viewers Postmaster General Louis DeJoy was not a political appointee, and he questioned the political dynamic that exists within the postal service workers’ union.
“He wasn’t appointed by Donald Trump,” Hawley said. “He was selected by a bipartisan board of governors. He — the Postal Service is independently governed. And the other thing, Steve, is that you listen to the Democrats, they say the Postal Service is out of money. Trump has bankrupted the Postal Service. That’s not true. They have $15 billion cash on hand, the most ever in their history right now. They’ve got the resources to deliver the mail through the election.”
“Now, they’re going to need long-term reform, and the Letter Carriers Union and the Board of Governors have put forward proposals,” he added. “We need to take those up in the New Year and look forward to the future. But, right now, there is no cause to weaponize the Postal Service. That’s what the Democrats are trying to do, just like they try to weaponize every part of this government against Donald Trump for the last four years. They’ve never accepted him as a legitimate president. This is just the latest installment, and it needs to stop.”
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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