Rep. Mfume Commends Postal Workers, Requests Briefing on Suspicious Mailings to Congressional Offices

Image October 16, 2026 Press Release WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congressman Kweisi Mfume (D-MD), Ranking Member of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations, sent a letter to Postmaster General David Steiner and Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale requesting a briefing on the suspicious mailings sent this week to congressional offices and state election offices. In the letter, Congressman Mfume commends the Postal Service employees who intercepted several of the letters before they were delivered and honors the postal workers who face the greatest risk from dangerous mail. “I commend the Postal Service and Postal Inspection Service employees who, according to state election officials and a Senate office, intercepted several of these letters before they were delivered,” wrote Congressman Mfume. “As the investigation continues, I want to make sure Congress has a clear picture of the threat and of any support the Postal Service needs to address it.” “This week’s mailings are also a reminder that the people most exposed to dangerous mail are the postal employees who handle it first,” Congressman Mfume continued. “Our country learned this at great cost in 2001, when two employees of the Brentwood processing facility in Washington, D.C., both Maryland residents, died after anthrax letters addressed to Senate offices passed through their facility. We owe them and their families a lasting debt.” “I thank these inspectors, and the letter carriers, clerks, and mail handlers who keep doing this work every day, often without knowing what is inside the envelopes they carry,” Congressman Mfume concluded. In the letter, Congressman Mfume requests a briefing on the following: The approximate number of suspicious mailings identified to date, including how many were addressed to congressional offices and how many were intercepted before delivery; How the Postal Service and the Postal Inspection Service identified and intercepted these mailings; How and when the Postal Inspection Service shares information about threats in the mail with the Capitol Police and the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms; The steps taken to protect postal employees who may have processed or delivered these letters; and Any changes to procedures adopted after earlier suspicious mailings, and any additional resources the Postal Inspection Service needs to address these threats. Text of the letter can be viewed HERE . ###