Pelosi in Rare Saturday Session: 'Ignore' Trump

The speaker calls in lawmakers over Republican objections
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 22, 2020 2:00 PM CDT
Pelosi in Rare Saturday Session: 'Ignore' Trump
A postal carrier drives past protesters during a rally against changes to the United States Postal Service, in Newport Beach, Calif., Tuesday, Aug., 18, 2020.   (Jeff Gritchen/The Orange County Register via AP)

The House is meeting for a rare Saturday session over mail delivery disruptions, poised to approve legislation that would reverse recent changes in US Postal Service operations and send $25 billion in emergency funds to shore up the agency ahead of the November election, the AP reports. Speaker Nancy Pelosi recalled lawmakers to Washington for the debate over objections from Republicans. President 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. "We are here today because our democracy is being eroded by this administration," said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the chairman of the rules committee, opening debate. He argued that Trump is trying to halt mail-in ballots, afraid that so many Americans will vote he could lose the White House. But Republicans countered that complaints about mail delivery disruptions are overblown, and no emergency funding is needed right now. "Do we need that money? Absolutely no," said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla. "It's a silly, silly bill."

(More Nancy Pelosi stories.)

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