https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/wxdp59/the-one-simple-trick-to-make-the-usps-buy-electric-trucks

Ever since noted Republican megadonor and Trump supporter Louis DeJoy became postmaster general of the United States Postal Service in 2020, he and Democrats have engaged in the same song and dance on several occasions. Democrats want DeJoy to do something, whether that means keeping sorting machines in operation during an unprecedented surge in mail volume or speeding up the mail or not executing a plan to slow down the mail. DeJoy responds by saying, almost in so many words, make me. The Democrats do not make him. And the cycle repeats.

On Wednesday, the USPS and Democrats entered the cycle anew as the fight over the USPS’ next vehicle fleet intensified. A year ago, the USPS awarded a massive contract to procure at least 50,000 and up to 165,000 new delivery vans from a military contractor. Few if any of the vans will be electric, despite the fact that the Biden administration issued an executive order calling on the federal government to procure EVs and bucking an industry trend towards electric vehicles. Due to the vagaries of USPS governance and procurement practices—it embodies all the flaws government procurement has to offer and all of the flaws corporate unaccountability has to offer into one super-flawed operation—it was always unlikely the USPS would buy EVs even though EVs make total sense for the USPS.