U.S. Trump said he would reject a bailout package if it included aid to keep the US Postal Service

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Donald Trump said he would refuse to sign the $2.2 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package if it contained funding for the United States Postal Service, according to a report Saturday from [link:https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/11/post-office-bailout-trump/?utm_source=reddit.com&utm_source=reddit.com.com|The Washington Post.
]
"We told them very clearly that the president was not going to sign the bill if [money for the Postal Service] was in it," a Trump administration official told the Post. "I don't know if we used the v-bomb, but the president was not going to sign it, and we told them that."

In addition to the senior White House official, The Washington Post reported a congressional official also confirmed the president threatened to refuse to sign the $2.2 trillion stimulus package known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act if it contained any relief money for the postal service.

As The Post reported, Sens. Gary Peters, a Democrat from Michigan, and Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, added a last-minute $10 billion loan to keep the postal service function in the short-term. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had said lawmakers' plan to offer $13 billion in funding to the postal service could derail the entire package.

https://frontier.yahoo.com/news/trump-reportedly-said-reject-bailout-193313887.html

[YessirAtsaFact]

1. Pass the bill and make him veto because of the post office

His supporters in rural areas need the post office more than anybody else

[BComplex]

19. I agree. This would be on trump, not on the democrats.

People in this country --- actually, around the world --- all love the post offices. Trump is a blight on this country. And his republican enablers need to get voted out of office FOREVER!

[DownriverDem]

23. They would have to change the Constitution.

Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 of the United States Constitution, known as the Postal Clause or the Postal Power, empowers Congress "To establish Post Offices and Post Roads".

[groundloop]

35. But Doesn't REQUIRE It.

I'd been reading several threads where people felt that the Post Office was protected by the Constitution so decided to look into it. From what I found it seems that the Constitution allows for the Post Office to be funded by the Federal Government, but doesn't require it.

I fear that the repubs might finally be realizing their wet dream of privatizing the Post Office and turning it over to their big money donors.

[Curtis]

72. It doesn't require it but

It is listed under the power of the legislative branch. I don't see how the Orangutan gets a say if the power is specifically reserved for the legislative branch

[Caliman73]

100. Checks and balances. ALL presidents can veto bills.

Trump is a spectacular asshole but that does not negate that the office of the President has the power to veto bills as part of the checks and balances written into the Constitution.

Just like it says that the President has the power to appoint people to the Cabinet and the courts, but the Senate gets a say with the Advice and Consent.


He needs to be forced to veto this bill, then he can explain that he didn't want to pass relief for the whole country because he wants to be a complete asshole to the Post Office.

[Trueblue Texan]

60. Yes! I DARE him to veto it!

Of course he can hold it up a while by letting it sit on his desk.

[grantcart]

64. +1

[notinkansas]

86. He's no king

I don't think it's such a stretch of the imagination to believe that veto could be easily overiden.

[Cha]

97. Great idea!

[mercuryblues]

2. I dare him.

Democrats need to insert it anyway and let trump tell the people their mail service will stop, because the cruise industry needs to be bailed out.

[liberalla]

49. That's a good message. You can't have mail service because we have to save

the cruise lines... the same companies that won't fly under the US flag because they don't want to pay taxes in the US.

Something's very wrong with that.

[Oppaloopa]

76. I double dare him.

He is going to bail out the cruise lines instead.

[Caliman73]

101. Actually he would be telling the people no stimulus AND no mail.

He would veto the entire economic relief bill just because he wants to screw over the Post Office.

Democrats need to hit hard on that.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. I would hope such a bailout package that included money for the USPS

would pass by a veto-proof majority.

[customerserviceguy]

53. Unless

the bill has the wide support in Congress that the last one did, that might be tough to accomplish. If it looks like the curve has been flattened, there might not be bipartisan support for a bill that would get a two-thirds majority in both sides of Congress.

[OMGWTF]

82. Wait until the people in the red states start getting sick. This ain't over.

[mercuryblues]

91. i suspect 5 to 10 days

from today his base will get real sick and their loved ones will start to die en mass. That is what it takes for those shitheads to wake up to trump's grift.

[msongs]

4. Repubs want to kill the post office. that oughta be a good message for dems to promote nt

[underpants]

28. They've been trying to kill it for a long time

Government that works and was heavily unionized.

[Newest Reality]

39. +1

[rickyhall]

46. No repug bribe money from post office, plenty from FedEx & UPS.

Follow the money, as usual.

[3Hotdogs]

5. BASTARDS

[narnian60]

44. +100

[LyndaG]

6. Wow, our mail person loves Trump

He's Puerto Rican, too, and stuck with him thru his treatment after the hurricane. Wonder what he'll think of this?

[olegramps]

14. I really have no time or sympathy for stupid any more. He deserves what he will get. Sorry for other

[sfstaxprep]

36. Probably Campaign For Him When He's Out Of Work nt

[Trueblue Texan]

61. Clearly, there's no hope for that one.

[MyOwnPeace]

62. W-T-F!!!!!!!!!!

I will NEVER understand the MAGAts!
Another one that votes against what is best for them.
Have the schools let us down?
Is it something in the water?
Is it brain damage?
Is Murdoch sending them checks (how you gonna get them without the post office?)?

Really, What The F**k!!!!!!

[Jakes Progress]

65. Stupid is as Stupid does.

[appalachiablue]

67. 'Chickens voting for Colonel Sanders!'

[erronis]

68. Perfect.

[xmas74]

7. Let him

I'll remind everyone I know that he rejected their aid because he wants to shut down the post office.

[TheRickles]

8. Many benefits to de-funding the PO

From the R point of view: breaking a big union, privatizing a big industry, and possibly most important - making vote-by-mail much more difficult in November.

[DENVERPOPS]

33. Bingo, TR, bullseye.....

[Newest Reality]

40. +1

[Guilded Lilly]

66. Spot on. Emphasis on the mail-in voting.

[erronis]

69. And if it's voting by Fedex/UPS Inc. then it's like having the fox guard the henhouse.

"Lost/delayed mail? Please file a complaint. And remember: You Are Our Most Important Product."

Guess the (r)epuglicon minders in the Fedex/UPS sorting centers will be able to oversee how those emails are delivered - after opening and scanning them.

[otchmoson]

81. And the only recourse, if you've been harmed

will be arbitration . . . no class action lawsuits (I expect,though I haven't researched) but most big companies now include that clause in their terms of service. And if you don't like their TOS, go elsewhere. Once the post office is GONE, where do you go?

[sop]

9. Add FedEx and UPS to the companies Trump will be shilling for at his next briefing.

Apparently grifting for My Pillow and Hydoxychloroquine isn't enough.

[underpants]

32. UPS and Fed Ex can't do it. They've said so many times.

They can’t go to every door every day. They just don’t have the capacity.

[sop]

43. Not for 55 cents, the price of a first class USPS stamp for a letter.

UPS or FedEx charge twenty times as much to deliver the same envelope, so they can't compete with the USPS. Eliminate the USPS and I suspect they would create the capacity pretty quickly, but at 20X the current price.

[customerserviceguy]

54. Canadians pay significantly more for postage

Maybe it should be about a buck or so to send things by mail, and we need to make sure that junk mailers are paying their share, too.

[underpants]

77. Door to door. Also a lot of people don't have mailboxes

You don't notice it unless you look for it. I saw a postal person on foot on a run once and was like WHAT? then I looked, no mailboxes.

[JHB]

50. That doesn't matter to ideologue conservatives and libertarians

Bathtub, nothing. They want government small enough to drown in a bucket.

[customerserviceguy]

58. And the only reason that the USPS

goes door to door every day is because of junk mail. The rest are packages that can be delivered efficiently because of the rates, and snail-mail bills that are so 20th Century anymore.

[underpants]

75. True on junk mail. They deliver for UPS and Fed Ex too

Both use the others planes or contracted cargo space (USPS doesn't have planes)

[customerserviceguy]

90. Thank you

A vote for a subsidy to the USPS is really a vote for subsidizing UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc. and for subsidizing wasteful business practices that are incompatible with a low-carbon footprint economy. The junk mailers are using our sympathy for "Mr. McFeeley" to get a big break on the cost of doing business.

[fescuerescue]

95. Junk mail is their biggest money maker

By far

[customerserviceguy]

96. Yes, it accounts for the most revenue

because it is heavily subsidized by the rest of us. But it is extremely wasteful. Did you know that junk mailers consider their efforts a success if they get a two percent response rate? They need to find a more eco-friendly way of selling overpriced underperforming crap.

[C Moon]

10. McConnell will go right along with this, so don't think our congress will be able to do anything.

[SWBTATTReg]

11. Oh, and so businesses will still need to get their bills out to their customers to pay, etc.

How do you idiots think that these bills will get out there? Magically appear in our mailboxes? idiots.

I don't think this administration is thinking clearly at all, and this proves it again.

Idiots. I am running out of words to describe the pure incompetent actions of this pathetic administration. Just wait until more people hear about this. People will yell and scream if they can't get their mail.

I'll bet he is doing this because he's afraid of the mail in ballots that will go out for the Nov. 3 2020 elections. I bet that this is exactly why he's hemming about any funds for the post office.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

13. I expect he wants to privatize it.

I'm sure he has cronies waiting in the wings.

[2naSalit]

22. That's been the plan since

fucking gingrinch has been around.

[Clash City Rocker]

84. And then sending a letter will cost five bucks

[usaf-vet]

38. Bills & payments, medical supplies, small local business mailings, technology void seniors......

.... written letters, congressional mailings to constituents, certified signature-required legal documents, mail to military members overseas, mail to war zones, and so on, and so on.

Who do the idiots think are going to fill all those voids?

[shanti]

52. And

let's not forget that the vast majority of PO employees are veterans.

[usaf-vet]

102. Exactly!

[erronis]

73. The idiot/crooks don't care. They have their own delivery systems that bypasses USPS.

Hand delivered, by private jet if necessary. Signal app.

Don-the-Con doesn't care about legal documents. He ignores/shreds them anyway.

Mail to military, war-zone? Don-the-Con hates losers.

Congressional mail to constituents? Nobody reads them and congress is no longer chosen by informed citizens, just by $$$$$s.

[jimfields33]

80. Are you serious? Lol

I have turned off all bills and pay automatically. This isn’t 1980. Today what’s the famous sentence out of every Americans mouth when they get mail? “Only junk mail again” and into the recycle it goes.

Doesn’t mean post offices should go out of business though. But find a better use of the post office then the one you gave.

[SWBTATTReg]

98. You are not the only one that does stuff like this. And by far, there are a ...

lot of folks that are NOT tech savvy, that rely the mail everyday, as I mentioned.

I didn't just pull this fact out of the air, being that one of these people is my dad, who is not tech-savvy. And I speak for others like him. A lot of them. Maybe where you are at, you are in some weird place here in America that they never had mail delivery, and that everyone is all electronic??

And I am being very serious about this. There is a whole segment of the population that doesn't go for the internet, doesn't interconnect, etc. and they religiously await the mail everyday. It's kind of a shame that we have people who pride themselves on being tech savvy, and then mock others. Nice.

[jimfields33]

99. You sure go beyond what I wrote

I didn’t mock those who can’t turn on a computer. The post office will not go away. It will be here longer then all of us.

[Maeve]

12. Let him be that big a fool

Someone show him Article 1 section 8

[Ferryboat]

15. Throw 600,000 out of work

Way to own the libs.

[ashredux]

16. This has been a goal of the GOP for years....to privatize the USPS

as usual...FOLLOW THE MONEY

[BlueJac]

17. Call the cowards bluff!

Fucking asshole!

[ancianita]

18. THAT right there is unconstitutional. USPS is written into the Constitution. Impeach the scofflaw.

[LiberalArkie]

24. Funding isn't though.

[ancianita]

51. NOT funding that imperils its existence is.

[Demsrule86]

20. Senate won't pass it if the president won't sign it...however...just say no bill then. We need the

post office which will shut down in June.

[Baitball Blogger]

21. All kinds of wrong with that.

[Dios Mio]

25. Motive

to follow I’m sure. Wants to eliminate mail in ballots maybe.

[LiberalArkie]

26. RFD

Rural Free Delivery (RFD) is a service that began in the United States in the late 19th century to deliver mail directly to rural farm families. Prior to RFD, individuals living in remote homesteads had to pick up mail themselves at sometimes distant post offices or pay private carriers for delivery (this fee was in addition to the postage paid by the mailer). RFD became a political football, with politicians promising it to voters and using it themselves to reach voters.

The proposal to offer free rural delivery was not universally embraced. Private carriers and local shopkeepers feared a loss of business. The United States Post Office Department began experiments with Rural Free Delivery as early as 1890. However, it was not until 1893 that Georgia Representative Thomas E. Watson pushed through legislation that mandated the practice.[1] However, universal implementation was slow; RFD was not adopted generally in the United States Post Office until 1902.[2] The rural delivery service has used a network of rural routes traveled by carriers to deliver mail to and pick it up from roadside mailboxes.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rural_Free_Delivery

[BarbD]

27. He doesn't want mail-in ballots

It would also screw up the census, notifications from Social Security, etc. etc.

[Alex4Martinez]

29. OK then! Please keep it in and let him VETO relief from the pandemic.

Fucking asshat.

[Sophiedillo]

30. Trump has said that if mail-in votes are allowed...

...then the Republicans would never win another election. He hopes the PO will fail before the November elections.

[Newest Reality]

45. There is a...

There is a full gamut of dastardly, devious, deceptive and other means that the GOP is utilizing now with Trump as their figurehead. It is a full on assault on democracy and even just a little searching online reveals that to be the case.

The GOP attacks and democracy is not their thing. They are no longer a valid opposition party, just a self-serving opposition.

We will see more and no, I am not a paranoid delusional conspiracy theorist.

[at140]

31. I rarely use P.O. anymore, but it should be saved for the benefit of

our rural brothers.

[Freethinker65]

34. Call his bluff. Make him veto it. Then try to override the veto.

The override will likely fail, but there will be a record of what legislators killed the USPO.

[smirkymonkey]

37. Evil bastard!

[trickyguy]

41. Please see my post under "Phew" about the U.S. Postal Service straight from

the mouth of a current postal worker. Wish I could share his Facebook post here.

It was an excellent read as to how important the mail is to all of us. Just like DU.

If we ever lose these vital services, we will be in a dark place.

[sarcasmo]

42. No post office, no mail in ballots.

[NoRoadUntravelled]

47. Postal Workers Union Endorsed Sanders in 2016 and 2020. Seems like Trump's being Trump.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/30/postal-workers-union-endorses-sanders-109485

[jmbar2]

48. Save the Post Office - buy stamps online

Trump is trying to kill off the postal service to kill mail-in voting. Just saw on online plea to buy stamps in order to save them.

If half the population of the US bought just one $11 roll of forever stamps, it would raise $1.5 billion for them.

I bought 2 - don't really need them, but will donate to the noncomputer users here in my building.


https://www.usps.com/

[kimbutgar]

56. I just brought 40 forever stamps last week.

I usually write checks and mail my bills. I want to control when my bills are paid.

[Dream Girl]

55. Call his bluff

[maxrandb]

57. Anyone but me wondering why Dems didn't call his bluff?

Seems like a pretty strong political position to be in.

Almost like snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Just a simple question to Democrats.

Give me one example where caving to this asspickle and his fuckstick Retrumplicans have caused them to become more reasonable and bipartisan?

[littlemissmartypants]

59. Clearly he's unaware of the "who to vote for..." mailings

done by every republican running. Having worked as a poll judge I can assure you that the idiots who vote republican won't be smart enough to mark their ballots without their "cheat sheets" as I call them. Every one of those are sent through the good old USPS.

Also, many will be SOL when their medicines don't arrive at the door.

It's a ludicrous notion.

I'd love to jerk a knot in president bodybags. He's going to overplay his hand soon enough and every word he speaks will be filed under bullshit.

[Stonepounder]

63. Also, if the USPS shuts down, we will get 500,000 more unemployed.

And, an awful lot of Postal employees are vets. The average salary for a Postal employee is $60,000 a year.

You think active military won't notice that? And who do you think will handle the mail? Sure as hell not FedEx or UPS. They do an awful lot of hand-offs to the USPS for the final leg of delivery, since they don't want to have to deliver out to remote locations, but the USPS delivers just about everywhere.

[durablend]

70. And Fauci said

"Can't guarantee it'll be safe for in-person voting in November"

Add 2 and 2 together, what do you get?

[keithbvadu2]

71. The Post Office is far more important to our economy than a cruise industry bailout.

The Post Office is far more important to our economy than a cruise industry bailout.

[ooky]

74. You want to talk about shutting down the economy - all hell will erupt if

Trump shuts down the postal service to prevent a fair election from happening. Shutting it down at all will cause massive economic damage, but to do it in order to prevent democracy will take that hell to another level.

[marybourg]

78. The p.o. is his new enemy. He knows if we have a

legitimate vote-by -mail in November he’ll be out on his ass.

[onecaliberal]

79. Let those dumb fucks try this. It would be a huge cluster duck.

[Blue Owl]

83. The magic touch of tRump's little feculent fingers

*POOF* and another thing turns into shit...

[dalton99a]

85. Trump wants to kill the United States Postal Service.

[Mr.Bill]

87. I think Congress

would over ride the veto.

[SummerSnow]

88. I dare you, I double dare ya...

There were 497,157 career employees in 2018. The number of non-career employees was 137,290.

https://facts.usps.com/size-and-scope/

We make the connection. Friends and families, businesses and customers. The United States Postal Service delivers to every address in America, from the biggest cities to the smallest hamlets. The U.S. Mail is part of the fundamental infrastructure of this nation. It is a basic connection between all of the people and all of their institutions. This is our mandate — binding the nation together. This is our commitment — providing secure, reliable, affordable delivery of mail and packages. Always have, always will. It’s what we do


1.Forty-eight percent of the world's mail volume is handled by the Postal Service.
2.More than 6.6 million passport applications were accepted at Post Offices during 2019.
3.With one of the largest corporate email systems, the Postal Service handles more than 3.5 million legitimate emails a day delivered to more than 222,000 email accounts.
4.The Military Postal Service provides service in 67 countries. Diplomatic Mail service is provided in 113 countries. There are 678 land-based and 389 onboard-ship Military Post Offices. There are 140 Diplomatic Post Offices. There are 1,069 ZIP Codes within the Military and Diplomatic Postal Service around the world.


* god help us there is no logic in getting rid of the postall service. He is trying to destroy every institution in this country.

[DFW]

89. Fine. Let it be on Page One of every newspaper in the country--in an election year!

One of the two candidates for president wants to abolish the U.S. Mail. And it's not Joe Biden.

That ad ought to run four times every hour--for about three days before Trump backs down and says that isn't what he meant at all.

[CaptainTruth]

92. So Trump is so afraid of vote by mail, he's eliminating the mail?

[soldierant]

93. Of course he wants the USPS dead.

He is terrified of voting by mail, and would happily bring down anything to prevent it.

The USPS is the onlyy established by the Constitution, but, as people who have survived authoritarian governments keep telling us, institutions will not save us.

But if every adult in the nation beought a sheet of First Class stamps ffrom the USOS website, that would seriously help.

Other suggestions include refusing to shop with any on-line or catalog vendor which does not uses USPS for delivery.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

103. What a selfish asshole

Wiping his ass with the Constitution again. I hate him hate hate hate that pile of orange shit.
They keep up abusing this country
People are going to get sick of being abused...and that may lead to...

[Pacifist Patriot]

104. Is the GOP trying to kill the post office to adversely impact mail-away ballots come November?

If not that, why? I honestly don't get it.