Whistleblower disclosure alleges Postal Service continued ballot portal work despite court orders
An anonymous whistleblower disclosure sent to Sen. Richard Blumenthal alleged that the Postal Service continued work on the USPS Federal Ballot Mail Portal despite court orders enjoining it from doing so; Blumenthal relayed the allegation to Postmaster General David Steiner in an August 31, 2026 letter.
What happened
In an August 31, 2026 letter to Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer David Steiner, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, wrote that his office was in receipt of an anonymous whistleblower disclosure and that he was troubled by allegations that the Postal Service continued work on the Portal despite numerous court orders enjoining it from doing so. The letter states that on or about June 25, 2026, the Postal Service ordered work on the Portal to cease because of a court order enjoining implementation of the executive order. Recounting a litigation timeline of a June 25, 2026 District of Massachusetts injunction, a First Circuit affirmance on July 25, 2026, an August 11, 2026 nationwide order, a Supreme Court stay on August 24, 2026 and the lifting of the August 11 order on August 26, 2026, the letter concludes that the Postal Service "should have ceased all work on the Portal on June 25, 2026, with the earliest conceivable date to resume being August 26, 2026." It further states that a Temporary Restraining Order issued on August 27, 2026 again halted Postal Service work on the Portal for 14 days.
Why it matters
An agency continuing to build the operational system for a directive while that directive is enjoined would drain the injunction of practical effect, which is the mechanism this indicator tracks. The row records an allegation relayed in a congressional oversight letter, not a judicial finding that a violation occurred.