Power Grab/Fire anyone who can stop him
The Postal Service restarted ballot-portal work under an injunction, a whistleblower says
An anonymous USPS employee told Sen. Richard Blumenthal that work on the Federal Ballot Mail Portal resumed on or about July 29, 2026 with no explanation of what authority permitted it.
What happened
An anonymous Postal Service employee told Sen. Richard Blumenthal that USPS restarted work on its Federal Ballot Mail Portal on or about July 29, 2026, while a court injunction was in force. The employee, represented by Whistleblower Aid, said there was no explanation of what authority permitted it.
USPS began building the portal on or about June 15, 2026 and stopped on June 25, when a Massachusetts federal court enjoined Section 3 of Executive Order 14399, which limits mail voting. The First Circuit affirmed the injunction on July 25.
A nationwide injunction followed on August 11; the Supreme Court stayed the first injunction on August 24, and the second was lifted on August 26. Blumenthal’s August 31 letter to Postmaster General David Steiner said the earliest conceivable resumption date was August 26 and demanded work dates by September 4.
Who benefited
The executive order’s limits on mail voting gained a portal under construction at USPS while the injunction against them stood. The work resumed about four days after the First Circuit affirmed the injunction. The work resumed about four days after the First Circuit affirmed the injunction, on or about July 29, and the whistleblower says USPS gave no explanation.
Who wanted something
USPS, under Postmaster General David Steiner, was building the portal for an executive order that limits mail voting. Sen. Blumenthal wanted the dates the work took place, and demanded them by September 4. Sen. Blumenthal wanted the dates the work took place, and in his August 31 letter to Postmaster General Steiner he demanded them by September 4.
Who lost out
Voters who vote by mail are the people the executive order’s limits fall on. A court had ordered the work stopped on June 25, and by the whistleblower’s account USPS went on anyway for weeks.
Why it matters
A court order stopped the work on June 25, and by the whistleblower’s account it resumed on July 29 with no authority given. Blumenthal’s letter says the earliest conceivable date to resume was August 26, four weeks later.
Sources Sen. Richard Blumenthal (primary)Sen. Richard Blumenthal (primary)APU.S. District Court, D.D.C. (CourtListener) (primary)