Pelosi: Ignore Trump, House debates postal funds

The House is meeting for a rare Saturday session over mail delivery disruptions, poised to approve legislation that would reverse recent changes in U.S. Postal Service operations and send $25 billion in emergency funds to shore up the agency ahead of the November election.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi recalled lawmakers to Washington for the debate over objections from Republicans. President Donald Trump often rails against mail-in ballots, including in a Saturday tweet, and has said he wants to block extra funds for the Postal Service.

"Don't pay any attention to what the president is saying, because it is all designed to suppress the vote," Pelosi told reporters at the Capitol.

The daylong Saturday session comes as an uproar over mail interference puts the Postal Service at the center of the nation's tumultuous election year, with Americans rallying around one of the nation's oldest and more popular institutions. Millions of people are expected to opt for mail-in ballots to avoid polling places during the coronavirus pandemic.

New Postmaster General Louis DeJoy testified Friday in the Senate that his "No. 1 priority" is to ensure election mail arrives on time.

But the new postal leader, a Trump ally, said he would not restore the cuts to mailboxes and sorting equipment that have already been made. He could not provide senators with a plan for handling the ballot crush for the election.

Despite the postmaster general's vow election mail will arrive on time, Democrats remain skeptical the Postal Service has the resources it needs to handle the onslaught during the pandemic crisis.

Republicans have long sought changes to have the agency run more like a private company, and Trump often complains the Postal Service should be charging Amazon and other companies higher rates for package deliveries.

Others say the Postal Service is not expected to be solely a money-making enterprise, often delivering to far-flung places where it is not efficient to operate.

Pelosi also assailed President Trump after he urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to speed up the approval of coronavirus treatments, saying the president was threatening public safety to help his reelection.

"The FDA has a responsibility to approve drugs ... judging on their safety and their efficacy — not by a declaration from the White House about speed and politicizing the FDA," Pelosi said during a rare Saturday press briefing in the Capitol.

"This was a very dangerous statement on the part of the president," she added. "Even for him it went beyond the pale, in terms of how he would jeopardize the health and well-being of the American people."

Earlier Saturday, Trump raised eyebrows when he attacked the FDA on Twitter, accusing "deep state" officials at the agency of delaying approvals for coronavirus drugs in order to hamper his prospects at the polls in November.

"The deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics. Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd. Must focus on speed, and saving lives!