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'Always playing right into their hands!': Trump publicly criticizes Mitch McConnell for holding hearings during Republican convention

President calls on GOP leaders to move hearings so as not to distract from the important moment for his re-election campaign

Chris Riotta
New York
Thursday 20 August 2020 12:42 BST
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Trump calls universal mail-in voting a 'catastrophic situation'

Donald Trump has lashed out at Republican leaders on Capitol Hill for moving forward with hearings over controversial changes to the US Postal Service during next week’s Republican National Convention.

The president wrote in a tweet: “Why are Republicans allowing the Democrats to have ridiculous Post Office hearings on Saturday & Monday, just before and during our Convention. Let them hold them NOW (during their Convention) or after our Convention is over.”

Tagging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Mr Trump added: “Always playing right into their hands!”

His criticism comes after it was confirmed earlier this week that Mr Trump’s Postmaster General Louis DeJoy would testify on Friday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Mr DeJoy, who held no experience in the post office but was a major donor to the president’s 2016 campaign, was expected to speak about major changes he announced to the USPS that were being blamed for causing a slowdown in mail services — just before a crucial election in which millions of voters were planning to cast their ballots by mail due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The announced changes were met with swift scrutiny and outcry on Capitol Hill from Democrats, who accused Mr Trump of undermining the USPS to prevent an expansion of mail-in voting across the country.

Senator Gary Peters (D—MI) confirmed Mr DeJoy would attend the Friday hearing in a statement that read: “I am pleased to have secured an oversight hearing on Friday with Postmaster General DeJoy in order to address urgent questions on the Postal Service delays that are causing massive disruptions across the country.”

“As Ranking Member on the only Senate Committee with oversight of the Postal Service, I will continue pressing for answers on Mr DeJoy’s recent directives and their impacts on all Americans,” he added, “who rely on the Postal Service for prescriptions, running their small businesses, voting and other crucial purposes.”

Despite the fact that mail-in voting has consistently proven to be a safe and secure way for voters to cast their ballots, the president has continued his attacks on Democratic states seeking to expand access to mail-in voting during the pandemic. Mr Trump claimed to reporters at the White House on Tuesday that widespread mail-in voting would cause “a disaster the likes of which our country has never seen”.

In a tweet on Wednesday, he also lambasted activists who have led protests demanding access to mail-in voting options during the Covid-19 outbreak, writing: “IF YOU CAN PROTEST IN PERSON, YOU CAN VOTE IN PERSON!”

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