Washington, D.C. — 9/2/26 – Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. Joe Morelle, Ranking Member of the Committee on House Administration, requested that U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Inspector General Tammy Hull investigate the Postal Service’s dangerous, untested, and illegal ballot screening system created at President Trump’s direction, which could disrupt ballot delivery for millions of Americans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
“If the Administration is able to implement an illegal vote-by-mail power grab, a free and fair midterm election is impossible. The midterms are weeks away and Donald Trump’s scheme would stop potentially millions of American citizens from voting. We are demanding a full independent investigation to identify those responsible and hold them accountable,” said Ranking Member Robert Garcia.
“First, I want to commend this whistleblower, a patriot, for coming forward. The allegations are extraordinary, and I do not believe this will be the end of these reports. If Trump Administration officials knowingly built a system designed to prevent Americans from receiving their ballots, and blatantly ignored court orders, that is not election security. It is a betrayal of our Constitution and the American people,” said Ranking Member Joe Morelle.
In the letter to Tammy Hull, Inspector General for the U.S. Postal Service, Ranking Members Robert Garcia and Joe Morelle wrote, “We write with extreme alarm regarding a recent whistleblower disclosure that the United States Postal Service is secretly creating a ballot screening system, potentially in contravention of federal law, that could prevent millions of voters across the country from receiving their mail-in ballots. This disclosure makes it abundantly clear that the actions taken by the Postal Service at President Trump’s direction threaten a “foreseeable catastrophic disruption to our coming nationwide elections.” If the Postal Service proceeds with the implementation of President Trump’s executive order ahead of the 2026 midterm election, and these disruptions occur, a free and fair election is impossible. You must investigate the Postal Service’s reckless actions, which undermine the foundation of our nation’s democracy and violate the basic principle that all citizens have the right to have their vote counted.”
In July 2026, Ranking Members Robert Garcia and Joe Morelle led 169 Members of Congress in sending a public comment letter to the USPS urging the agency to reject its proposed rule restricting ballot mail in federal elections. In February 2026, Ranking Members Garcia and Morelle led 68 lawmakers in demanding answers from Postmaster General David Steiner on USPS’s preparedness for the 2026 elections, raising serious concerns that new postal transportation policies could delay mail-in ballot delivery, particularly in rural communities.
