Refuse to implement any provision of Trump’s executive order that interferes with state election laws or the established handling of election mail;
Refuse to implement any provision of Trump’s executive order that interferes with state election laws or the established handling of election mail.
Occurrences
Publicly reaffirm the Postal Service’s commitment to neutrality and to following state election laws;
Coordinate closely with state and local election officials—including those in New Jersey—to ensure the timely, secure, and accurate delivery of all election mail consistent with state law;
Provide Congress with a full and transparent accounting of any communications, guidance, or operational changes considered in response to this executive order.
Evidence
“We write to condemn the administration’s unlawful executive order seeking to seize states’ constitutional authority over elections... Against that backdrop, any effort to involve the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) in carrying out this executive order—especially in ways that affect the handling, timing, or treatment of election mail—must be rejected.” The letter explicitly demands USPS: “Refuse to implement any provision of Trump’s executive order that interferes with state election laws or the established handling of election mail.”
The letter instructs USPS to “Coordinate closely with state and local election officials—including those in New Jersey—to ensure the timely, secure, and accurate delivery of all election mail consistent with state law;” and warns against “guidance, or operational changes considered in response to this executive order.”
“David (Dave) Steiner is the 76th Postmaster General ... He ... began his tenure on July 15, 2025.”
The published executive order states that federal agencies are to act “within 60 days of the date of this order” and addresses ballots and related election administration issues, indicating the federal action Pou objected to was officially issued and operative for agency consideration.
The USPS quarterly results release discusses operational and financial matters, including regulatory waivers and mail volumes, but does not identify any implementation of Trump’s election executive order or any USPS refusal to implement it.
A federal judge dismissed DOJ’s Maryland voter-data lawsuit, saying the state need not turn over unredacted registration files. The Justice Department said some of the data was intended to cross-check citizenship through DHS’s SAVE system.
A federal judge barred DHS from using the revamped SAVE database for voter verification, finding the program violated privacy and voting-rights protections and could wrongly purge voters from rolls.
Assessments
Pou led a formal letter urging USPS not to implement the Trump election-order provisions affecting state election laws and election mail, which is meaningful oversight activity. But the evidence does not show USPS actually refused implementation or that the contested provisions were blocked, so the promise cannot be counted as fulfilled.
Pou appears to have materially acted on the promise by leading a formal April 6, 2026 letter to USPS demanding that it refuse to implement any part of Trump’s executive order affecting state election law or election mail. That is strong evidence of serious oversight effort aligned with the promise. However, the promise is outcome-based: to refuse implementation. The record provided does not show that USPS in fact adopted Pou’s demanded position, issued a refusal, or demonstrably refrained from implementing the relevant provisions because of her intervention. The executive order was active and within its compliance window, and later USPS material cited here does not confirm either implementation or refusal. Because there is clear effort but no confirmed delivered outcome yet, the best adjudication is unresolved rather than delivered or never.