White House presses compromise on post office funding and stimulus checks



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White House pushes for congressional compromise on US Postal Service funding and stimulus checks for individuals as House Democrats denounce President Trump’s threat to withhold USPS funding and tie it up the administration’s opposition to universal postal voting.

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“If my Democratic friends are all upset about this, come back to Washington, DC,” White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told CNN’s “State of the Union”. “Let’s go ahead and give the Americans a stimulus check. Let’s make sure small businesses are protected by a [Payroll Protection] Schedule and put postal funding in there. We will adopt it tomorrow. The president will sign it. “

“It will all go away because what we are seeing is Democrats are trying to use this to their political advantage,” Meadows continued.

The House of Representatives is in suspension for the rest of August. However, a senior member of the House Democratic leadership told Fox News it was ‘when not if’ they were coming back this week or next to focus on funding the USPS and possibly on funding for coronavirus aid.

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Meadows insisted that possible electoral fraud, and not pressure on the USPS, is what should make Americans think about choosing the path of universal postal voting in November. The Postal Service processes and delivers more than 181 million first-class pieces of mail every day.

Erica Koesler, left, and David Haerle, both of Los Angeles, protest outside a USPS post office, Saturday, August 15, 2020, in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles.  (AP Photo / Chris Pizzello)

Erica Koesler, left, and David Haerle, both of Los Angeles, protest outside a USPS post office, Saturday, August 15, 2020, in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo / Chris Pizzello)

“Even though every voter has voted by mail, we’re talking about a 1.5% difference,” Meadows said. “I was in the room when the post general manager said he was willing to pay overtime to make sure that happened.

“What he is opposed to are universal ballots where you send millions of ballots to registered voters across the country, even those who don’t ask,” he said. “These lists are not accurate. People are moving, people are dying. And yet, when we go to send ballots across the country, it’s not just asking for disaster. It’s really knowing what you send is incorrect. “

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Such a “disaster” could mean months without knowing the results of the 2020 presidential election, which could lead the House, currently held by Democrats, to decide who becomes president if none of the candidates wins a majority in the Electoral College , Meadows said.

Fox News’ John Roberts on Friday asked Trump if he would be willing to offer the $ 25 billion for the ailing USPS, including $ 3.5 billion in electoral resources, if Democrats were prepared to give in to some of the demands expressed by Trump.

“Of course, if they give us what we want,” the president said at a press conference. “And that’s not what I want, it’s what Americans want.”

Fox News’ Chad Pergram, Leland Vittert and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

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