The House of Representatives on
Saturday passed a $25 billion funding infusion to the U.S. Postal
Service in a bill that also would reverse new cost-cutting measures and
ban any efforts to slow down the mail until at least next year. The vote was 257-150 with 26 Republicans joining the Democrats. Democrats called the rare "emergency" session in the middle of the summer recess because they contend President Trump and new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy are trying to sabotage the 2020 election by delaying service that could compromise mail-in ballots during the coronavirus pandemic. "We are
experiencing a global pandemic and now our U.S. Postal Service is under
attack," said Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. "Let it be clear: This
administration is waging an authoritarian campaign to sabotage this
election by manipulating the Postal Service to suppress our votes ...
This is not a conspiracy theory. This is fascism. We will not stand for
this." Rep.
Gerald Connolly, D-Va., said DeJoy is "a crony and major donor of the
president." Together, they have waged a campaign to disrupt the
timeliness of mail delivery and erode public confidence in the Postal
Service that -- if successful -- would be "the largest voter suppression
in American history since Jim Crow," Connolly said. Republicans
dismissed the Democrats' election concerns as "conspiracy theory." GOP
members said the Postal Service is not in a crisis and can handle any
uptick in volume from mail-in ballots, pointing to its $14 billion in
available cash and access to a $10 billion loan from the Treasury. "Like
the Russia hoax and impeachment sham, the Democrats have manufactured
another scandal for political purposes," said Rep. James Comer, R-Ky.
Rep.
Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., said Democrats are using the Postal Service to
gin up "a new Trump conspiracy theory" even though the president doesn't
control the postmaster general. "Seems insane, but all too typical for the Trump-hating Democrats," Lesko said.
Goofy
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during a news
conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Aug. 22. The House is set for a
rare Saturday session to pass legislation to halt changes in the Postal
Service and provide $25 billion in emergency funds. (Associated Press)
The legislation is not expected to go anywhere. The GOP-led Senate has no plans to take up the bill and the White House issued a veto threat on Friday saying USPS doesn't need a $25 billion bailout. Trump
tweeted Saturday his opposition to funding for the Postal Service and
linked it to his objections to universal mail-in voting. "Vote NO
to the Pelosi/ Schumer money wasting HOAX which is taking place now,"
Trump tweeted. "Then fight the $51 million unasked for Ballots. Only
ABSENTEE BALLOTS are acceptable!" The Delivering for America Act would
infuse the post office with $25 billion, reverse the service changes
that DeJoy enacted this year and prevent the Postal Service from taking
any measures that could slow down the mail until after the
coronavirus pandemic or Jan. 31, 2021 -- whichever is later. The
legislation specifically bans reducing service hours at postal
facilities, decommissioning mail sorting machines and removing community
mailboxes. The bill would prohibit any limits on overtime pay, hiring
freezes, delaying mail service and treating election mail as anything
less than first-class mail.
Democrats
point to growing concerns from constituents over mail delays coinciding
with postal changes on DeJoy's watch. DeJoy rejected that any political
motives were at play, but told a Senate panel on Friday there has been
a slowdown. “We all feel bad about the dip in our service," DeJoy said, adding that they were working to fix the problems. Under mounting pressure, a noisy protest at his Washington home
and alarm over the removal of blue collection boxes in communities,
DeJoy on Tuesday announced he was putting a pause on any service changes
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 this image from video, U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy
testifies during a video virtual hearing before the Senate Governmental
Affairs Committee on the U.S. Postal Service during COVID-19 and the
upcoming elections, Aug. 21, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (US Senate
Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs via AP)
But Democrats said DeJoy paused the changes only because he "was caught red-handed" and argued the emergency legislation was needed to bar him from undermining mail delivery and the 2020 election. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chair of the House Oversight Committee, produced a new internal Postal Service document
on the House floor Saturday that she says revealed a significant drop
in service standards at the Postal Service since DeJoy implemented
changes. The document was a presentation prepared for DeJoy on Aug. 12.
"To
those who still claim there are ‘no delays’ and that these reports are
just ‘conspiracy theories,’ I hope this new data causes them to re-think
their position and support our urgent legislation today," Maloney said. Republicans took
a couple of shots at Maloney during the debate, pointing to her primary
race in New York City, which took weeks to call as election officials struggled to count mail-in votes. They said her race should serve as a warning of the dangers of universal mail-in voting for the November election. "If anyone
should know, it should be the chairwoman of this committee who had to
wait six weeks after the Election Day to get the results of her
election," said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who dismissed the House
legislation as a political "charade." "Imagine what the Democrats want to do -- throw live ballots out there to everyone." The Postal Service has lost about $80 billion since 2007 through
a decline of mail volume and a congressional requirement that the
Postal Service pre-fund retiree health benefits. The problems at the
Postal Service have been under the spotlight especially this year with
the pandemic and greater reliance on mail-in services. The Postal
Service board requested the $25 billion in funding from Congress earlier
this year and Democrats agreed. The funding was initially included in
the $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill the House passed in May, but the
HEROES Act died in the GOP-controlled Senate. Republicans
and the White House said the $25 billion isn't needed and they took
special issue with the language that blocks DeJoy from implementing any
reforms at an agency that is losing money.
White
House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said Trump "at no time has instructed
or directed the Post Office to cut back on overtime, or any other
operational decision that would slow things down." He said the process
of removing blue mail boxes and sorting machines started back in 2011
and the Postal Service has "more than enough money in the bank account."
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows
The vote Saturday, sandwiched between the Democratic and GOP conventions, got heated at times on the House floor. Rep.
Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., said American democracy is more endangered now
than during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks because the country is more
divided and the threat is coming from within. "Today the greatest threat to our democracy is the current administration," Lynch said of the Trump White House. Rep.
Jody Hice, R-Ga., shot back that Democrats are doing the damage to
America. "The greatest threat to democracy in the country is the current
majority in the House of Representatives," he said.
House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell, R-Ky., to respond to constituents' concerns on mail delays
and take up the bill. "Public sentiment is everything," Pelosi
said. "They'll be hearing from their constituents because this hits
home. Not receiving your mail in a timely fashion hits home. Not
receiving your prescriptions, especially for our veterans, hits home in a
way that is harmful to our country." The 26 Republicans who
joined with Democrats to approve the $25 billion funding bill were:
Nebraska Reps. Don Bacon and Jeff Fortenberry; Ohio Reps. Troy
Balderson, Steve Stivers, David Joyce and Mike Turner; Illinois Reps.
Michael Bost and Rodney Davis; Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida, Missouri
Reps. Sam Graves and Ann Wagner; Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania;
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington; Texas Reps. Will Hurd and
Michael McCaul; Michigan Rep. Fred Upton, New Jersey Reps. Jeff Van Drew
and Chris Smith; New York Reps. John Katko, Peter King, Elise Stefanik
and Tom Reed; Rep. Doug LaMalfa of California; Rep. David McKinley of
West Virginia; Rep. Pete Stauber of Minnesota and Rep. Don Young of
Alaska.
Two women have been arrested in Delaware in connection with a viral video that allegedly showed the suspects ripping up Trump signs and stealing a MAGA hat near the site of Democrat Joe Biden's acceptance speech Thursday. The video also shows a heated confrontation between the suspects and adults coming to the defense of a 7-year-old supporter of President Trump. The
suspects, identified as Olivia Winslow, 21, and Camryn Amy, 21, were
arrested by Wilmington police Friday and Saturday and charged with
robbery, conspiracy and endangering the welfare of a child, according
to Delaware Online. Amy was also charged with offensive touching. “That’s
somebody else’s hat,” the 7-year-old boy is heard saying in the video
after the women rip up several Trump signs in the parking lot of the
Chase Center in Wilmington, where portions of the Democratic Convention were held. One of the suspects grabs a Trump hat that was lying on the ground. “Get your hat back, baby,” an adult is heard saying to the boy as they follow the suspects, demanding the return of the hat.
Olivia Winslow, left, and Camryn Amy, both 21, face charges in
connection with a Thursday incident in Wilmington, Del., authorities
say.
(Wilmington Police )
One
of the suspects allegedly punched a man in the face after he joined the
mother and son in an attempt to get the hat back, which can be seen in
the video. “You want to sucker-punch me?” the mother yells as one of the suspects throws the hat over a tall fence. “She
came after my son!” the mother alleges. One suspect then appears to
approach the mother and attempt to hit her before the video ends. Winslow and Amy were identified after police reviewed the footage, according to Delaware Online. The
altercation began when Winslow and Amy allegedly started taunting the
woman and her son over their Trump signs, one of which was "forcefully”
snatched out of her hands by Amy, court documents said, according to Delaware Online. The
incident was the latest of increasing clashes between the left and the
right nearing presidential
election.
Majority of Americans are sick of these anti-police rioters.
An anti-police protest in Denver
outside police department headquarters escalated into violence Saturday
night as rioters began smashing windows, setting small fires in the
street, throwing rocks and hurling fireworks toward officers, according to reports.
At
one point, members of the crowd in what was dubbed the "Give Em Hell"
protest were seen trying to tear down a fence that was surrounding the
Statehouse, FOX 31 Denver's Evan Kruegel reported. At least eight arrests were reported, according to Kruegel. At another point, a rioter was seen throwing a bicycle at a police officer, according to a reporter from Denver's KUSA-TV. Rioters also set fire to an American flag, Marc Sallinger posted on Twitter. Some
of the fireworks exploded close to officers, KUSA reported. One officer
was reportedly injured but it's unclear how serious the injuries were. A
Reddit post that earlier publicized the "Give Em Hell" protest claimed
Denver officials had not addressed activists' calls to defund the police
and said that bill calling for a referendum on replacing the police
with a Peace Force was vetoed, according to FOX 31.
The post called for demonstrators to "bring your gear," according to KUSA. A SWAT team was sent out for crowd control and several people were arrested, according to Denver's KCNC-TV. The fires were quickly extinguished. Chemical agents were reportedly used on the rioters. A
van pulled up during the unrest, with occupants handing out shields and
helmets to crowd members, who were mostly dressed in black, KUSA's
Sallinger reported. At one point, a resident walking her dog confronted one of the rioters who was smashing a window with an ax. “This is not productive,” she told the vandal, who hit the glass again and walked away. “People
are breaking every window they see,” Sallinger tweeted. “Someone came
out of Quiznos with a drink in hand and said, ‘I needed a Coke.’”
"They’re moving throughout the city without any regard for the law," he added in another tweet.
President
Donald Trump speaks to the 2020 Council for National Policy Meeting,
Friday, Aug. 21, 2020, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 12:35 PM PT – Friday, August 21, 2020
According to President Trump, Democrats painted an inaccurately dark picture of the U.S. during this year’s Democratic National Convention.
During Friday’s 2020 Council for National Policy in Virginia, the
president said his time in office has been the most successful in U.S.
history.
He went on to tout his
administration’s historic tax cuts and deregulation efforts, along with
the American economy and way of life under his presidency. In contrast,
he claimed Democrats want to quadruple taxes and regulations.
The
president has suggested Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden and his
leftist policies pose a threat to the country. He further asserted a
Biden presidency would benefit China and violent anarchists across the
country.
“No
party can lead America that spends so much time tearing down America.
But the biggest part of last night’s speech was what Biden didn’t talk
about. He didn’t talk about law enforcement. He didn’t talk about
bringing safety to Democrat run cities that are totally out of control
and have no clue. China was never mentioned in any way, shape or form.
China will own our country if he gets elected. They will own our
country. Well, we’re not going to let that happened.” – Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States
The
president also threw doubt on quick election results. He has said it
could take “weeks, months or maybe never” if Democrats succeed with
their universal mail-in voting push.
Vice
President Mike Pence holds up a sign while greeting supporters
following his speech at Tankcraft Corporation in Darien, Wis.,
Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. (Anthony Wahl/The Janesville Gazette via AP)
Vice
President Mike Pence has also expressed that Biden will only make
matters worse for the economy as it starts to recover from the pandemic.
During a recent interview, Pence stressed the economy is on the ballot
in the upcoming November elections.
Though
the U.S. has lost 22 million jobs since the beginning of the pandemic,
he reiterated 9 million Americans have already gone back to work because
of the president’s policies.
The
vice president claimed Biden could threaten this progress. He pointed
out the Democrat candidate wants to significantly raise taxes and spend
trillions on a “Green New Deal.”
“Joe
Biden said last night the economy is not going to come back until the
coronavirus is over. News flash to Joe Biden: the economy is coming
back. The only real threat to the economy is a Joe Biden presidency.” – Mike Pence, Vice President of the United States
Going
forward, Pence added the Trump campaign will be focusing their message
on the economy. He has suggested this is why they will win another four
years in the White House.
FILE
– In this Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020, file photo, a person drops
applications for mail-in-ballots into a mail box in Omaha, Neb. (AP
Photo/Nati Harnik, File)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 5:30 PM PT – Friday, August 21, 2020
As
Americans across the country consider who they’re going to vote for
this November, many voters have begun to realize how they’ll be voicing
their stance could be just as important of an issue. According to a
recent survey, more than four in 10 Americans are not confident this year’s elections will be conducted fairly and accurately.
The
poll, which was conducted in late July and included responses from
nearly 6,500 people, showed levels of concern about the integrity of the
elections were similar across party lines and increased among voters
who are older.
Of those planning to vote
for Democrat candidate Joe Biden, 48% stated they are worried. 41%
those looking to support President Trump responded similarly.
25 Universities That Just Aren’t Worth The Tuition
FILE
– In this June 30, 2020, file photo, a box of absentee ballots wait to
be counted at the Albany County Board of Elections in Albany, N.Y. (AP
Photo/Hans Pennink, File)
This
report came before the USPS announced it could not guarantee all ballots
cast for the general elections would be delivered in time, even if
mailed by states’ deadlines. In addition to delays, voters have said
they are also concerned their ballot could get lost.
“I
don’t know, I’m scared it might get lost in the mail,” stated one
resident. “I just want to make sure my vote is submitted, that it
actually counts.”
Meanwhile, many people
echoed President Trump’s worries about the potential for voter fraud
after primary elections revealed outdated voter rolls and discrepancies
connected to mail-in voting.
“At this
point we have identified 119 applications that appear to be false,”
explained Lake County elections supervisor Alan Hays. “We have turned
over these documents to the sheriff’s department.”
Volunteer
Arsinia Dempsey cleans a voting booth between voters at the North End
Senior Center, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020, in Hartford, Conn. (AP
Photo/Jessica Hill)
Many Americans
will still be looking to vote by mail this November. President Trump
has encouraged those not at high risk for COVID-19 to exercise their
right to vote in person.
On Twitter, he added “If you can protest in person, you can vote in person.”
Democrats are fighting for the soul of the U.S. and are clearly the "empathetic party" in the 2020 election, Fox News contributor Jessica Tarlov argued on "The Story" Friday.
Tarlov conceded to host Martha MacCallum that this week's Democratic National Convention
represented a "missed opportunity" for the party to address ongoing
riots and violence in U.S. cities. However, she added that the election
will come down to healthcare and the state of the coronavirus pandemic
in the U.S. "The
contrast couldn’t be starker than listening to Joe Biden talk to the
families of the 170,000 Americans who lost their lives versus Donald
Trump, when asked about the COVID death toll, saying 'it is what it is,'
which has become a catchphrase across all of the DNC with Michelle Obama most notably on Monday night using it," she said. "So,
I think that Joe Biden did a great job with the contrast of
light versus darkness ... I think that we know who is really fighting
for the soul of this nation and is the empathetic party, which is the
Democrats." Tarlov's
fellow Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich disagreed, arguing that
Democrats didn't exhibit empathy in their responses to either the
pandemic or the riot. "It is not empathetic to ignore rioting and
burning down of businesses of the very people that Democrats claim to
be standing up for, like immigrants in Minneapolis," she said. "For
example, an African immigrant who came here, saved all of his money
-- was a firefighter in Minneapolis -- to open a sports bar, it was
closed for COVID-19 and he was about about to reopen it, and then it got burned down and Democrats didn't have anything to say about that.
"It's
about the Ethiopian immigrant who owned a furniture store in
Minneapolis that Democrats claim to be standing up for, but are
completely ignoring on this issue," Pavlich added. "Yes, COVID is at the
top of mind of all Americans, but so is law and order and safety, and
for Democrats just to completely ignore it and then stand on the soapbox
of empathy doesn’t really add up when it comes to policy positions and
what they would actually do. "And
in terms of dealing with the pandemic, you know, last night, Joe
Biden talked all about how it doesn’t have to be this way, he would have
handle the pandemic differently, but didn’t give any details, and when
he said that he would engage in PPE [personal protective equipment] and
testing -- well, the Trump Administration has done a lot of that,"
Pavlich continued. "The testing is a little slower than it should
be, but they created a test from scratch, pulled off a lot of government
regulation to do it and Democrats are the party that likes to put a lot
of regulation onto private industry when the Trump Administration has
taken it off to fight this virus. And COVID isn’t just about fighting
the virus, by the way. It’s about people's economic livelihood, it's
about children’s education, it's about suicide rates, it's about
overdoses. So, the president has talked about all of those things and
doing more than one thing at once, and Joe Biden hasn’t addressed any of
it in detail."
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan on Friday vetoed a City Council budget plan to slash funding to the police department and eliminate the city's homeless outreach team, among other programs. The
nine-member council approved the rebalanced budget that would have
reduced police funding by 14% for the remainder of 2020. The move also
would have resulted in the loss of 100 police officers through layoffs
and attrition. The cuts would have totaled around $23 million of the remaining $127 million in the budget, KOMO News reported. “This
veto was because the bills, as passed, did not have the type of
collaboration that I think we will have going forward, and that I'm
hopeful we will have going forward," Durkan said during a news
conference. "There's some flaws in each of these (bills) that I hope the
council can correct, or with discussions, we can find a path forward
together. "I continue to have concerns about council decisions to
make cuts before they have a plan," she added. “I do not believe the
2020 budget in its current form moves us closer to those shared goals. I
truly believe we can, and must, find common ground for the vision of
SPD.” Durkan, a Democrat,
cited the lack of a plan for how to address public safety if the
policies came to fruition, saying programs needed to first be in place
before making substantial cuts to the police department. Council
President Lorena Gonzalez said she was "disappointed" to hear Durkan
vetoed the proposals, "which were overwhelmingly supported by the City
Council." “I have to believe that we agree on more than we
disagree, and I will strive to bridge the gap on our few but critical
differences of opinion,” González said. "I hope that the public
knows that their elected leaders are committed to working together on
achieving a long-overdue transformation of our law enforcement and
criminal justice systems that have for far too long perpetuated trauma
and harm on our black, brown and indigenous neighbors.” Durkan said Friday she has spoken to González, and is optimistic that the council and her office can work out a compromise. The sweeping proposals prompted Police Chief Carmen Best
to issue her resignation days after the council vote. The plan also
would have slashed her salary and that of several officers in her
command. Best said she was leaving because of the “lack of respect”
toward her officers, not the proposed pay cuts. One of the
programs on the chopping block was the city's Navigation Team, which
consisted of police officers and homeless outreach workers. Some council
members considered the officers on the team nothing more than "homeless
camp sweepers." Other units -- including the Harbor Patrol, SWAT, Public Affairs and Horse Unit -- also were slated to be dismantled.
Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best speaks during a news conference on Aug. 11. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
The
council is in the middle of a three-week recess. It can choose to
override the veto when it reconvenes in September with a supermajority
vote. Durkan also announced she and the council agreed to provide $45 million in COVID-19 relief funds for 2020 and 2021. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Rep.
Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., said Democrats are using the Postal Service to
gin up "a new Trump conspiracy theory" even though the president doesn't
control the postmaster general.
