Raoul Joins Lawsuit Against U.S. Postal Service Changes

ILLINOIS — Amid reported "sweeping" operational changes inside the United States Postal Service, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined a group of 13 other attorneys general Tuesday in the filing of a federal lawsuit. Among the allegations against decisions made by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who was appointed by President Donald Trump in May, are widespread mail delays, elimination of overtime for postal workers, instructing carriers to leave mail behind and the decommissioning of mail sorting machines.

Other states represented in the lawsuit are Washington, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin and Virginia.

"When faced with the imminent filing of this lawsuit, the Postmaster General today announced his intention to pause his disruptive actions until after the election," Raoul said in a statement. "But make no mistake, a statement issued in a press release is inadequate in providing assurance to the millions of Americans relying on the Postal Service that he will not reverse course — again."

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The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court Eastern District of Washington at Yakima, states DeJoy is "subverting the national election this year" with these new measures. Record numbers of Americans are expected to vote by mail in November due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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According to Raoul, at the end of July, the Postal Service sent an "unprecedented" letter to Illinois election officials warning that "certain deadlines for requesting and casting mail-in ballots" under state law "are incongruous with the Postal Service’s delivery standards."

Raoul and the other attorney generals assert in the lawsuit that the USPS implemented these drastic changes to mail service nationwide unlawfully, and the states seek to immediately halt the agency's actions.

The lawsuit contends DeJoy, who officially became postmaster general in June, is a major donor to the Republican Party and President Trump's reelection campaign. It alleges DeJoy has given more than $2 million to the Trump campaign or Republican causes since 2016 and was in charge of fundraising for the Republican National Convention in Charlotte.

Prior to becoming postmaster general, DeJoy was on the board of directors at XPO Logistics, a transportation and logistics company that does business with the USPS and other U.S. government agencies.

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