Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the following statement on President Donald Trump’s tweet today on delaying the 2020 presidential election:
“A president cannot legally move the election without approval from Congress, and the end of the president’s term is spelled out in the Constitution. President Trump is sowing confusion about bedrock principles of our democracy to distract from an accelerating pandemic, a massive economic contraction, and his campaign’s sinking poll numbers.”
“This election will be unlike any other in our nation’s history because of the ongoing pandemic. President Trump and Republicans in Congress are refusing to provide adequate funding for voting by mail and for the postal service. Mega-wealthy special interests are funneling millions into an enormous voter suppression effort. Bill Barr has authorized federal agents to act totally out of control in Portland, a thinly veiled threat to other Democratic cities in the fall. All of this needs to be of utmost importance to every American right now.”
