Multi-Billion Dollar Boondoggle: Biden Admin Plan For Electric Mail Trucks Flops Massively

A Biden administration effort to electrify the U.S. Postal Service has produced just 250 electric mail trucks in over two years—far behind schedule and slammed by Republicans as a multibillion-dollar “boondoggle.”

The nearly $10 billion project aimed to roll out 35,000 battery-powered USPS vehicles by September 2028, with $3 billion funded through President Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), according to the NY Post.

But despite $1.7 billion already spent, only a small portion of the fleet exists, prompting Republicans to push for canceling the remaining $1.3 billion in funding.

“Biden’s multi-billion-dollar EV fleet for the USPS is lost in the mail and more than $1 billion is postmarked to order more,” said Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).
“I am working to cancel the order and return the money to the sender, the American people.”

Wisconsin-based Oshkosh was awarded $2.6 billion to build the trucks. Yet as of late 2024, just 93 had been delivered—far short of the 3,000 expected. Production has been plagued by engineering issues, including airbag calibration failures and leaks so bad water poured out of the trucks.

“This is the bottom line: We don’t know how to make a damn truck,” one insider told The Washington Post.

The Post wrote late last week that a 2022 attempt by an Oshkosh executive to warn USPS about the problems was blocked by superiors. Former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy reportedly distanced himself from the delays.

“I’m in the parcel delivery business, not the vehicle manufacturing business,” he told colleagues.

By mid-2025, Oshkosh’s factory was producing only one truck per day—far below its projection of 80. The cost per vehicle: $77,692 for 28,195 units. USPS says it has ordered 51,500 Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDVs), including 35,000 battery electric models. To date, just over 250 electric NGDVs have been delivered.

USPS also ordered 9,250 Ford E-Transit EVs, nearly 8,000 of which have arrived.

“Modernization of the Postal Service’s delivery fleet is part of the organization’s $40 billion investment strategy,” a USPS rep said.

The new trucks are meant to replace aging Grumman Long Life Vehicles from 1987, which are noisy, costly, inefficient, and known to catch fire.

Despite Biden’s goal for a fully electric USPS fleet by 2026, the project has stalled. In a February 2025 report, the Government Accountability Office listed USPS as “high risk,” citing its inability to fund its services.

USPS lost $9.5 billion in fiscal year 2024. Former President Donald Trump proposed merging it with the Department of Commerce.

“[USPS has] been just a tremendous loser for this country… We want to have a post office that works well and doesn’t lose massive amounts of money,” he said.

Now, new Postmaster General David Steiner, appointed in July 2025, inherits the troubled program just as USPS approaches its 250th anniversary.