Postmaster General In The Hot Seat
- Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced on Tuesday that he would pause his aggressive overhaul of the U.S. Postal Service until after the election, amid an outcry that changes at the agency would hamper mail-in voting in the November election.
- But a former deputy postmaster general told reporters that he was skeptical of DeJoy’s assurances.
- After a call with DeJoy on Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that the postal service chief did not plan to replace the famous blue mail collection boxes that have been removed in some parts of the country. She added that DeJoy did not offer a plan for “adequate overtime” to ensure the timely delivery of mail.
- DeJoy appeared Friday before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, where he assured lawmakers that the postal service will still prioritize mail-in ballots, even if they didn’t carry first-class postage.
- However, DeJoy said he did not plan to reinstate high-volume mail sorting machines, confirming that those that had been decommissioned will remain so.
- Catch up on all the key moments from DeJoy’s testimony here.
Another Ex-Trump Official Hit With Federal Charges
- We didn’t see this one coming: Former White House strategist and onetime Trump campaign manager Steve Bannon was indicted on Thursday for allegedly personally cashing in on a fundraising effort to build a wall on the U.S.-southern border.
- TPM has been covering the fundraising effort, dubbed “We Build The Wall,” for the past year.
- In a twist of irony, U.S. Postal Service agents arrested Bannon on a yacht off the coast of Connecticut.
- Trump quickly tried to distance himself from both Bannon and the wall-funding effort, telling reporters he thought the news was “sad” but that he hadn’t been associated with Bannon for some time.
- TPM’s Josh Kovensky took a look at another probe Bannon faces — separate from the border wall venture.
- The entire staff live-blogged every twist and turn of the story here.
The Democratic Virtual Convention
- Over the course of four nights this week, Democrats held a virtual convention to officially deliver the nomination to former Vice President Joe Biden.
- Unsurprisingly, amid Trump’s war on mail-in voting, Democrats focused on the importance of voting early.
- The roll-call vote nominating Biden amounted to an endearing tour of the country and its diversity. A plate of calamari during Rhode Island’s time in the spotlight stole the show. But the restaurant’s owner insists the fried squid is strictly bipartisan.
- During Biden’s closing speech, the former veep drew a sharp contrast between Trump and himself. “I’ll be an ally of the light, not the darkness,” Biden said.
- Catch up on what you may have missed with our convention recap podcasts. You can find the final episode of the week right here, and wherever you listen to podcasts.
