Krishnamoorthi Threatens Subpoena of Postmaster General Over Trump-Ordered Plan to Restrict Mail Ballot Delivery

WASHINGTON - Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), a senior member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, warned Postmaster General David Steiner on Thursday that he will pursue a congressional subpoena and lead efforts to remove him from office if the U.S. Postal Service continues advancing a proposal tied to President Trump's March executive order that would limit mail ballot delivery to voters appearing on a federally maintained voter list.

The warning came after witnesses testified during a House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee hearing that USPS had published a proposed rule implementing the executive order and that Steiner reaffirmed before the Senate this week that USPS would not deliver mail ballots in states that refuse to provide voter registration data required under the proposal. Earlier Thursday, a federal district court blocked key provisions of the executive order, including its attempt to create a federal voter list and direct the Postal Service's handling of mail ballots.

"If you continue to move forward with this proposed rule despite the court ruling this morning, I, as a senior member of the Oversight Committee, will move to subpoena you and lead the effort to remove you from your post," Krishnamoorthi said.

During the hearing, Krishnamoorthi also warned that efforts to restrict mail voting would disproportionately harm military personnel and Americans serving overseas who rely on absentee ballots. He noted that states including Texas and Florida count certain military and overseas ballots after Election Day if they are postmarked on time.

"President Trump's demand to throw out ballots arriving after Election Day would break the law and disenfranchise military voters," Krishnamoorthi said. "That's a severe disservice to our men and women in uniform, among others."

Krishnamoorthi also raised broader concerns about federal interference in election administration, including comments from Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin suggesting that ICE agents could be deployed to polling places in response to alleged threats. Citing federal law prohibiting the deployment of armed federal personnel at polling places, Krishnamoorthi warned against using security concerns as a pretext for federal intervention in elections.

Video of Congressman Krishnamoorthi's remarks is available here.