The House of Representatives is currently conducting a special Saturday session to address the needs of the Postal Service and put a halt to the destruction that’s not just limiting the ability of the post office to deal with the fall election, but impacting millions of Americans right now. But Mitch McConnell has made it clear that the Senate has no intention to help pass the “Delivering for America Act.” And Donald Trump has already made it clear that he has his veto pen ready for any bill intended to secure operations of the Postal Service until after the election.
The bill being considered by the House would provide $25 billion in emergency funding and prohibit changes in processes through the end of the year. The White House has issued a formal statement of opposition to the bill. But it seems unlikely that Trump is going to need to sharpie his signature any time soon, as Mitch McConnell has also made it clear that he has no intention of bringing the Senate back to consider the House bill. Instead, the Senate intends to remain on vacation until at least Sept. 8—and McConnell seems unlikely to bring the House bill up for consideration then, or ever.
As representatives have spoken through the morning, Republicans seem intent on pretending that there is no issue at all, calling the issue a “made for TV fantasy” and focusing on the fact that the Postal Service doesn’t make a profit. Democrats repeatedly pointed out that people are not getting their medicine, businesses are not getting their payments, Social Security checks are not arriving, and sorting machines are laying disassembled in parking lots.
Over the last week, it’s become clear that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has no intention of actually halting the destruction of the post office, and that Republicans have no intention of speaking up against Donald Trump’s open admission that he’s intentionally sabotaging the United States Postal Service. In fact, almost everything Republicans have said in debate on Saturday has been lifted directly from Trump’s statement. Otherwise, Republicans talked about everything except the bill on hand.
It’s almost certain that the Delivering for America Act will pass the House. It appears to be even more certain that this bill will go just where the Heroes Act went weeks ago—into Mitch McConnell’s bottomless garbage bin. The White House statement makes it clear that Trump will veto the bill if it reaches him, McConnell has made it clear he is absolutely in the service of Trump and will not advance any bill unless Trump has agreed in advance.
So McConnell will stay on vacation as the post office is dismantled. And Republicans will again show that they are more interested in supporting Trump than defending the nation.
As of 11:35 ET, voting had begun on the first of a series of questions leading to the passage of the bill.
