With President Trump now saying he will block $25 billion in emergency funding for the U.S. Postal Service, or even $3.5 billion in supplemental funding tied to the November election, Democrats are hitting back, claiming his efforts amount to voter suppression and worse.

Sen. Cory Gardner weighed in Thursday on the issue, as Republicans have largely remained silent.

Trump began criticizing mail-in voting in June, claiming widespread use would lead to fraud. In addition, this week, USPS General Counsel Thomas Marshall issued a letter to states directing them to send election ballots as bulk mail — which takes three to 10 days —  instead of first-class. That’s despite a directive sent as recently as May 29 that said election ballots must be sent via first-class mail.

In May, Trump appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a top GOP fundraiser who holds $30 million stake in his former company, XPO Logistics, a USPS contractor. He previously held as much as $550,000 in UPS stock but sold it when he was appointed postmaster general. Democrats claim the XPO holdings create a conflict of interest and have asked the USPS inspector general to investigate both DeJoy’s actions to slow down the mail as well as potential ethical conflicts.

Thursday, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold commented on the president’s recent statements as well as DeJoy’s actions. The president “is trying to affect turnout by undermining the system,” Griswold told reporters. 

Fortunately, Colorado’s vote-by-mail system is safeguarded from some of that slowdown, she said, given that ballots are mailed out weeks ahead of time. Ballots for the November general election will be mailed out between Oct. 9 and 16, she said. 

Griswold also pointed out that voters are told not to mail in ballots eight days in advance of the election and instead take them to drop boxes. She said the state added 91 drop boxes in 2019, and through $2.1 million in funds from a bill adopted in 2020, it has money to fund another 100. She said she has adopted new rules requiring back-up sites in case the usual in-person voting centers become contaminated with COVID-19. 

Griswold also cited legislation passed in the 2020 session which directs county clerks to mail replacement ballots via first-class mail.

Vote by mail “has done wonders” in Colorado, Griswold added. It has increased voter participation by 9% overall, and 8% for Democrats and Republicans. Voting participation is up 13% for Black Coloradans and 10% for Latino/a voters, she said. And young people also are voting more, by 16%.

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet joined the entire Senate Democratic caucus on Wednesday in asking DeJoy whether he intends to continue past policies surrounding delivery of mail ballots amid worries of election-year meddling.

“Since you assumed the role of Postmaster General, there have been disturbing reports regarding changes at USPS that are causing significant delays in the delivery of mail,” the senators wrote to DeJoy.

“Instead of taking steps to increase your agency’s ability to deliver for the American people, you are implementing policy changes that make matters worse, and the Postal Service is reportedly considering changes that would increase costs for states at a time when millions of Americans are relying on voting by mail to exercise their right to vote.”

The letter continued that the U.S. Postal Service has traditionally handled election mail as First Class with a one-to-three day delivery timeline, regardless of its paid designation.

“We urge you not to increase costs for election officials, and to direct all Postal Service employees to continue to prioritize delivery of election mail,” the senators said.

The Democratic lawmakers asked DeJoy if the Postal Service plans to continue treating election materials as First Class while maintaining the current rate. They also requested to see communications about any new USPS policies for election mail and any letters sent to election officials describing how the agency will treat ballots this fall.

Gardner is among the few Republicans to comment on the situation. He told Colorado Politics on Thursday that “local post offices are vital, especially for our rural communities, but the postal service has been hit hard by COVID-19.”

He is part of the bipartisan Postal Service Emergency Assistance Act to provide $25 billion in financial relief to the United States Postal Service.

“I’m committed to working with the postal service and Members of Congress to ensure that service remains available in our communities,” Gardner said. “It’s critical we have safe and secure elections, which is why I have contacted every county Clerk and Recorder’s office in Colorado to make sure they have the funding and support they need and recently voted to provide $425 million for states to secure their elections in December and an additional $400 million in the CARES Act.”

However, Trump has said he will veto the bill, should it reach his desk. The Senate adjourned Thursday until Sept. 8, and the House is adjourned until Sept. 14. However, leaders of both chambers said they would bring lawmakers back if a deal is struck on COVID-19 aid. 

U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse of Lafayette tweeted that the president is “deliberately undermining” the Postal Service in order to prevent people from voting from home in the midst of the nation’s worst pandemic since 1918.

The President is deliberately undermining the Postal Service. Why? To prevent folks from voting from home in the middle of a global pandemic. We cannot let this stand.

— Joe Neguse (@JoeNeguse) August 13, 2020

Coloradans rely on the post office to get essential goods, conduct business, and even cast their votes. But this administration is set on dismantling the postal service.Add your name to tell Congress to save the postal service >> https://t.co/M1bPQH3lrJ pic.twitter.com/Mg3RT7jUOM

— Jason Crow (@JasonCrowCO6) August 12, 2020

Added U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Arvada, the president “is playing political games” with the USPS.

Donald Trump is playing political games with the postal service: deliberately slowing down mail service for prescriptions, small businesses, and to interfere with voting. We must end these attacks on the USPS and elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. https://t.co/VeLN3VTmpf

— Ed Perlmutter (@Ed4Colorado) August 13, 2020