Stacey Ritzen
As Americans were receiving mixed messages about the dangers of the coronavirus in the early weeks into the pandemic, the Trump administration reportedly put a halt to a plan by the USPS to send out packs of five masks to every residential address in the United States.
Over 10,000 pages of documents obtained by the American Oversight watchdog group via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) revealed that a press release detailing the plan had been drafted by the USPS in April. Working in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services, the agency had planned to distribute 650 million masks nationwide—starting with areas that had been hardest hit by the virus.
However, the document never saw the light of day. As we know now, in those early weeks and months President Trump was actively trying to downplay the severity of the virus. And according to at least one administration official who spoke anonymously with the Washington Post, that was also the key motivation in squashing the USPS plan.
“There was concern from some in the White House Domestic Policy Council and the office of the vice president that households receiving masks might create concern or panic,” the official told the Post.
“I see President Trump’s fingerprints all over,” added Austin Evers, executive director of American Oversight. “It’s clear from the president’s public comments, and the actions of his administration, he has a major agenda for the post office—and we see a lot of it in black and white here.”
The sabotaged plan was just one component of woes the Postal Service experienced in March and April, leading up to Trump’s appointment of former Republican fundraiser Louis DeJoy as Postmaster General in May. Since assuming office, DeJoy has been accused of slowing down the mail, and has been actively setting the stage for thwarting mail-in ballots ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
This latest news takes another hit to Trump’s presidency, which has been mired in scandal in the weeks leading to the upcoming election. Though, whether it will make a difference to his base remains to be seen.