Trump admin appeals ruling that barred USPS changes before election

The US Postal Service (USPS), Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and President Donald Trump have appealed a federal judge's ruling suspending service changes.

This despite the fact that the final deadlines for accepting ballots by mail for the November 3 election had passed. Joe Biden has been declared the president-elect by US media outlets.

The government late Friday said it was appealing US District Judge Emmet Sullivan's preliminary injunction orders issued in late September in a pair of legal challenges. Sullivan directed the USPS to take "extraordinary measures" to ensure that millions of ballots were delivered by mail and held numerous hearings on the status of ballots.

USPS general counsel Thomas Marshall said Saturday in a statement the agency would not comment on its appeals but said "it remains our view that none of the Election Mail lawsuits are justified by the facts or supported by the applicable law."

He said the agency "will continue to defend the integrity and credibility of our leadership and workforce, and the collective allegiance of our entire organization to our non-partisan service mission."

Sullivan also ordered twice-daily sweeps at USPS facilities serving states with extended ballot receipt deadlines.

At a hearing earlier this month, Sullivan said he would demand DeJoy answer questions about why the postal service failed to complete a court-ordered sweep for undelivered ballots.