WASHINGTON – U.S. District Chief Judge Stanley A. Bastian today announced that he will issue a nationwide preliminary injunction against Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, President Donald Trump, and the U.S. Postal Service, prohibiting the implementation of changes in mail services initiated by Postmaster General DeJoy, including changes that would affect mail-in ballots across the country. In his statement from the bench, Chief Judge Bastian cited the brief filed by Constitutional Accountability Center and Calfo Eakes LLP on behalf of U.S. Senators, led by Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), which explained that Congress imposed certain requirements on the Postal Service to insulate management of the Post Office from partisan influence.  

In reaction to today’s ruling, CAC President Elizabeth Wydra issued the following statement: 

This is a huge victory, both for the rule of law and for everyone in America who depends on the U.S. Postal Service to provide reliable delivery of ballots and medicines—services that are all the more critical in these difficult times. 

Postmaster General DeJoy ignored a federal law that requires him to follow certain procedures before initiating the kinds of changes he has spearheaded that have slowed mail delivery across America. 

As America engages in a historic vote in the middle of a public health emergency that has infected more than 6.5 million and killed nearly 200,000 of our family, friends, and neighbors, we look forward to Postmaster General DeJoy quickly heeding the court’s direction, putting a halt to these unlawful changes, and restoring Postal Service capacity to meet our nation’s needs. 

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Resources: 

CAC brief on behalf of U.S. Senators in Washington v. Trump: https://www.theusconstitution.org/litigation/state-of-washington-v-donald-trump/   

“Senator McConnell: Put out the fire at the Postal Service,” Elizabeth Wydra, The Hill, August 30, 2020: https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/514339-senator-mcconnell-put-out-the-fire-at-the-postal-service   

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Constitutional Accountability Center is a think tank, public interest law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history. Visit CAC’s website at www.theusconstitution.org. 

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