Donald Trump’s war on the postal service continued today as he made unrealistic demands on the agency. The Washington Post reports:
Trump recently signed a law that allowed the cash-strapped agency to borrow $10 billion from the Treasury Department. The Post has reported that the White House wants to force changes at the Postal Service as part of the terms of the loan.
Trump confirmed Friday that rates increases would be among those conditions, and that he would not allow Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to approve the loan without them.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says the postal service is “necessary,” especially for seniors who rely on it for drugs and other needs. And she points out that the post office has a 90% approval rating. In other words, it’s a service that almost the entire country supports.
Business Insider writes, “On April 9, Postmaster General Megan Brennan told lawmakers that the massive expected decline in mail volume is expected to cause losses of up to $13 billion this year. He estimated that the agency wouldn’t be able to continue providing reliable service and pay its over 600,000 person workforce by September without immediate help.”
