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What would you do with a federal agency that lost $9.5 billion in the past fiscal year, and faces nearly $80 billion in liabilities? And, should Trump cancel a humongous order for 60,000 electric vehicles for this agency?
From the Washington Post: President-elect Donald Trump has expressed a keen interest in privatizing the U.S. Postal Service in recent weeks, three people with knowledge of the matter said, a move that could shake up consumer shipping and business supply chains and push hundreds of thousands of federal workers out of the government.
Trump has discussed his desire to overhaul the Postal Service at his Mar-a-Lago estate with Howard Lutnick, his pick for commerce secretary and the co-chair of his presidential transition, the people said. Earlier this month, Trump also convened a group of transition officials to ask for their views on privatizing the agency, one of the people said.
Told of the mail agency’s annual financial losses, Trump said the government should not subsidize the organization, the people said. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to reflect private conversations.
Founded in 1775, the U.S. postal service is older than the nation itself, the report states.
However, the agency lost $9.5 billion in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, due to continued declines in mail volume and a slower-than-anticipated parcel shipping business.
In July, the price of a postage stamp increased from 68 cents to 73 cents.
The U.S. Postal Service also got caught up in the push by the Biden administration and climate activists to switch to electric vehicles, and committed to spending even more money they don’t have.
According to a March 2023 report by CBS News, Joe Biden signed an executive order at the start of his presidency saying all federal vehicles would have to be zero-emission by 2035.
As part of its original plans, the USPS said it was going to purchase 50,000 to 165,000 new vehicles, with “at least” 10% being battery electric-powered. But within a few months, more than a dozen states and numerous environmental groups sued the agency, accusing it of improperly analyzing the environmental toll of such an action and ignoring scientists’ concerns.
By June last year, USPS said that it could potentially expand its plans for EV purchases. By December, they did.
In December 2023, the Postal Service announced a commitment to make 75% of its newly acquired vehicles, known as Next Generation Delivery Vehicles, over the next five years electric. After 2026, NGDV purchases will be 100% electric, with a goal for a fleet of 66,000 electric vehicles deployed by 2028.
However, in an update last week, the Washington Post announced that the Postal Service’s order for 60,000 electric mail trucks is way behind schedule.
The agency had ordered the trucks from defense contractor Oshkosh, a company with a long history of producing military and heavy industrial vehicles, but not postal trucks.
Congress provided $3 billion for the nearly $10 billion project in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, one of Biden’s chief legislative accomplishments. But as of November, the Postal Service had received only 93 of the Oshkosh trucks, the agency told The Washington Post — far fewer than the 3,000 expected by now.
Oshkosh had reportedly intended to be manufacturing more than 80 vehicles per day by now, but currently, the company can only produce just one truck per day at its South Carolina factory.
The electric postal delivery trucks are costing about $23,000 MORE per truck. The Washington Post writes:
- For 1,958 gas-powered NGDVs, the agency agreed to pay $54,584 per truck.
- For 28,195 EVs, it would pay $77,692 per truck.
It is expected that Trump may cancel the massive electric vehicle order.
The Washington Post also explained:
The Postal Service has three vacancies on its nine-member governing board. Among sitting members, three are Republicans, and two of those are Trump appointees. Biden has three pending nominees, but the Senate does not appear poised to confirm them before Trump’s inauguration.
President-elect Donald Trump has expressed a keen interest in privatizing the U.S. Postal Service, a move that could shake up consumer shipping and business supply chains and push hundreds of thousands of federal workers out of the government. https://t.co/w14mGVrSZ1
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 14, 2024
Exclusive: A multibillion-dollar program to buy electric vehicles for the U.S. Postal Service is behind the original schedule, plagued by manufacturing mishaps and supplier infighting that threaten outgoing President Biden’s fight against climate change. https://t.co/SAGFi8pZkE
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 12, 2024
Only 93 of the first 3,000 Postal Service electric mail trucks have been delivered. No matter. The Biden plan for delivery of 60,000 electric mail trucks is likely to be scrapped by Trump. https://t.co/tSupb17Qz8 pic.twitter.com/bLlc0RJBRF
— Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) December 12, 2024
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