‘Postal-Naming Destruction’: The Least Controversial Thing Congress Does Is Becoming Controversial

More and more of what Congress does on a day-to-day basis is naming post offices. Some members want to end the practice.

Jamie Raskin

Rep. Jamie Raskin sits before President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to Congress at the Capitol. Shawn Thew/AP

It’s a normal day on the House floor when the top Democrat and Republican on the House Oversight Committee are yelling. It’s not normal that they’re on the same side and what they’re yelling about is a post office.

On Wednesday, amid all the topics that Oversight Chair James Comer and ranking Democrat on the committee Jamie Raskin could be spiritedly discussing on the House floor — investigations into Joe Biden, the Hunter Biden pardon, Donald Trump, the president-elect’s controversial nominees, continuing resolution negotiations, sweeping reconciliation bills, disaster aid, a farm bill extension or any other number of topics — it was a bill to name a Corpus Christi post office after Captain Robert E. “Bob” Batterson that had the two men hot and bothered.

“That’s causing a lot of rancor,” Raskin said. “It’s causing a lot of division. We don’t want this whole thing to blow up.”