The House voted 257-150 on Saturday to give the U.S. Postal Service $25 billion and to block and reverse the operational changes that are leading to widespread mail delays. 26 Republicans supported the measure, but the bill is unlikely to move forward after a White House veto threat.
On-time delivery for priority mail has continued to drop after a steep decline on July 4, an internal briefing for Postmaster General Louis DeJoy released by the House Oversight Committee on Saturday shows.
Why it matters: The U.S. Postal Service alerted 46 states and Washington, D.C., at the end of July that it cannot ensure ballots sent by mail in the general election will arrive in time to be counted. The warnings were planned prior to DeJoy's appointment and before his now-suspended operational changes to the service, per the Washington Post.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Jerusalem on Monday, Israeli officials tell me, noting he will travel to the United Arab Emirates thereafter.
Why it matters: Israeli officials say the focus of the trip will be the U.S.-brokered normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE, and the U.S. efforts with the United Nations to renew international sanctions on Iran.
David Caroll, leader of the Carter Center's project to promote democracy in international elections, told the U.K.'s Independent on Friday that the center is weighing "direct engagement" on "U.S. election issues" for the first time.
Why it matters: Six states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit against Postmaster General Louis DeJoy Friday, alleging recent changes to the U.S. Postal Service were "unlawful" and designed to impede efforts to conduct "free and fair elections."
President Trump on Saturday baselessly accused the Food and Drug Administration — which he likened to the "deep state, or whoever" — of making it harder for drug companies to distribute coronavirus treatments and vaccines.
Why it matters: Trump's tweet comes on the heels of a policy change by the Department of Health and Human Services to block the FDA's ability to regulate lab-developed tests, including for the coronavirus — which has public health experts worried that unreliable COVID-19 tests could go to market.
President Trump's senior adviser Jared Kushner and White House envoy Avi Berkowitz are expected to travel to the Middle East and visit Israel along with several Gulf states during the first week of September to check on the U.S.-brokered normalization deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Israeli and Arab officials tell me.
The state of play: Kushner and his delegation are expected to congratulate leadership in Israel and the UAE on the normalization deal and get updates on progress of the talks between the countries regarding possible agreements they may want to sign.
The White House on Saturday unveiled its newly renovated Rose Garden, spearheaded by First Lady Melania Trump and the National Park Service, and funded by a series of private donations.
The state of play: The design reflects the garden's original layout. Noticeably missing are crabapple trees that had been on-site since the 1960s, but have been removed to an off-site gardening center for care and will eventually be replanted on White House grounds, per CNN's Kate Bennett.
The U.S. Postal Service's governing board is developing a bipartisan Election Mail Committee to oversee mail-in voting processes amid scrutiny over the Trump administration's attempts to thwart mail-in ballots in this November's general election.
The big picture: Social distancing brought on by the pandemic is expected to spur a surge in mail-in voting this election cycle. But President Trump has vowed to block pandemic stimulus funds for mail-in voting and USPS. The president claims voting by mail is susceptible to fraud — contradicting the longstanding history and widespread use of the practice.
Joe Biden's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention drew the highest ratings of any night during the four-day event, according to Nielsen ratings.
The big picture: Viewership for the Democratic National Convention was down about 17% on average this year across all four nights compared to 2016.
No speaker at the Democratic National Convention came close to generating as much online enthusiasm as Michelle Obama, according to NewsWhip data shared exclusively with Axios.
Why it matters: By these measures, the most effective messenger in the Democratic Party is not even a politician.
Joe Biden's campaign and the Democratic National Committee raised roughly $70 million over the course of this week's virtual convention, the campaign said Friday.
Former Vice President Joe Biden told ABC News on Friday that, if elected, he would issue a nationwide stay-at-home order at the recommendation of scientists if coronavirus infections surged in January alongside the flu season.
Why it matters: The country's coronavirus crisis could worsen this winter if hospitals are overwhelmed with patients requiring care from COVID-19 at the same time as the flu. The severity of the influenza season also depends on how many Americans get flu shots.
