While Postmaster General Louis DeJoy reversed course Tuesday on a number of operational changes at U.S. post offices, California Rep. John Garamendi, said the damage inflicted on the postal service is done.
"This man has done everything he could possibly do in his two and a half months in office to destroy the credibility, the efficiency, and effectiveness of the post office," Garamendi (D-Calif. 3rd District) told Cheddar.
DeJoy is set to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and the Government Affairs Committee on Friday to respond to concerns about the potential for massive delays in the postal system ahead of the November presidential election. Last week, the USPS warned 46 states that voters there could be disenfranchised due to postal delays.
When asked whether DeJoy should resign, an idea pitched by fellow California Congressman Ro Khanna on Cheddar Monday, Garamendi said, "Certainly."
"He never should have been appointed," he continued. "The president had a plan way back in spring that he was going to disrupt the election in any way possible to keep Americans from voting."
As President Donald Trump continues to rail against widespread voting-by-mail, Garamendi alleged that the "destruction" of the postal service is one of the tactics the president is using to get re-elected.
"This is a pattern to reduce the number of people voting in America so that he can illegitimately win an election. It isn't going to happen," the congressman said.
While Garamendi emphasized the importance of being patient in the days, weeks, and even months following the election because "tens of millions of votes" will need to be counted, he expressed concern that Trump may not peacefully leave the White House in January if he loses in November.
"Every American must be concerned about the very future of our democracy," Garamendi said. "This president intends to be a dictator."
For Americans that are still skeptical of the mail-in voting process, Garamendi reassured voters that it is not new and is reliable.
"There is no reason, there's no evidence, there's absolutely no history of fraud in mail-in voting. It's been going on in California for decades," he said.
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act. For a critical sliver of the GOP majority, the impending expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits after Dec. 31 could be a major political liability as they potentially face midterm headwinds in a 2026 election critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda. For Democrats, the party’s strategy for capturing the House majority revolves around pinning higher bills for groceries, health insurance and utilities on Republicans.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Real estate software company RealPage has agreed to stop sharing nonpublic information between landlords as part of a settlement with the Department of Justice.
A legislative package to end the government shutdown appears on track. A handful of Senate Democrats joined with Republicans to advance the bill after what's become a deepening disruption of federal programs and services. But hurdles remain. Senators are hopeful they can pass the package as soon as Monday and send it to the House. What’s in and out of the bipartisan deal has drawn criticism and leaves few senators fully satisfied. The legislation includes funding for SNAP food aid and other programs while ensuring backpay for furloughed federal workers. But it fails to fund expiring health care subsidies Democrats have been fighting for, pushing that debate off for a vote next month.
Sabrina Siddiqui, National Politics Reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins to break down the SNAP funding delays and the human cost of the ongoing shutdown.
