A new Republican-led effort is underway to dismantle a key piece of the Biden administration’s push for electric vehicles, as lawmakers within the DOGE Caucus introduce a bill to claw back billions allocated for an underwhelming U.S. Postal Service (USPS) EV initiative.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX) announced the “Return to Sender Act” on Monday, which seeks to rescind $3 billion in funding authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for the development of an electric postal fleet. The legislation comes after reports surfaced detailing significant delays and cost overruns in the project, with critics calling it yet another example of Washington waste.
Biden’s USPS electrification effort has been riddled with problems from the start. Initially, defense contractor Oshkosh was slated to deliver 60,000 “Next Generation Delivery Vehicles” (NGDVs) over several years, but production has fallen drastically behind schedule.
In November, only 93 trucks had been delivered—far below the 3,000 that were expected by that time. According to a report by The Washington Post in December 2024, some workers involved in the project admitted that they “don’t know how to build a damn truck.”
“This is the bottom line: We don’t know how to make a damn truck,” said one person involved in production speaking to The Post.
Ernst, chair of the DOGE Caucus, didn’t hold back in her assessment of the situation. “Biden’s EV postal fleet is lost in the mail,” she said.
“The order needs to be canceled with the unspent money returned to sender—the taxpayers. I am defunding this billion-dollar boondoggle to stamp out waste in Washington. Tax dollars should always be treated with first-class priority.”
Cloud echoed those sentiments, blasting the project as another misfire of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act.
“This law funneled billions into a failed USPS EV project that has delivered nothing but delays, defective trucks, and skyrocketing costs,” he told Fox News Digital, who first reported the story. “Three years later, taxpayers are still waiting while the Postal Service refuses to provide basic transparency on where the money went.”
The Postal Service, despite its financial woes, had agreed to pay more for the trucks after Oshkosh raised its prices. Under the finalized deal, the cost per EV truck ballooned to $77,692 for 28,000 vehicles, putting the price tag well above initial projections. Despite the mounting setbacks, Oshkosh CEO John Pfeifer claimed in an investor call last fall that the company was “really happy where we are” on the project—a statement that now rings hollow given the latest revelations.
Meanwhile, USPS maintains that the fleet overhaul remains a critical part of its modernization efforts.
“From the start, USPS committed to purchasing the most environmentally sustainable vehicles across the organization’s entire fleet, consistent with financial and operational considerations,” said spokesperson Kim Frum to Fox News. “Deliveries of new NGDVs to the Postal Service remain on track to the contracted schedule.”
However, with production figures failing to match expectations and costs continuing to spiral, Republican lawmakers see an opportunity to cut losses and redirect taxpayer dollars away from what they call a poorly managed program.
With a Republican-controlled House and a narrowly divided Senate, the bill could gain traction as GOP lawmakers ramp up efforts to dismantle Biden’s climate agenda.
The bill, if enacted, would eliminate any remaining federal funds that have not yet been committed under these sections. It has been read twice in the Senate and referred to committee for further consideration.
