New York attorney general Letitia James has launched a lawsuit against the Postal Service, Postmaster General DeJoy, and President Trump, claiming a conspiracy to change Postal Service policies. The suit was filed in federal court in D.C., where the Postal Service is headquartered. It was joined with great fanfare by the attorneys general of New Jersey and Hawaii and the city attorneys of San Francisco and New York City, a who’s who of jurisdictions committed to using the legal system for “Resistance” of all things Trump. James’s press release hyperventilates, “This USPS slowdown is nothing more than a voter suppression tactic. . . . These authoritarian actions are not only jeopardizing our democracy and fundamental right to vote, but the immediate health and financial well-being of Americans across the nation. We will do everything in our power to stop the president’s power grab and ensure every eligible voter has the opportunity to cast a ballot come November.”
Rhetoric aside, the concrete facts alleged in the complaint are more modest, and it pushes legal theories that range from the tenuous to the absurd. Congress has strictly limited judicial review of Postal Service decisions, and the courts have frequently enforced those limits. With one possible, limited statutory exception, James is likely to face an uphill battle getting the courts to wade into this controversy.
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