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WASHINGTON — A senior House Democrat urged postmaster Louis DeJoy to resign on Wednesday, saying President Biden was violating a plan to electrify the federal fleet by placing a multibillion-dollar order for mostly gasoline-powered vehicles.

Virginia Democratic Representative Gerald Connolly, who leads the House of Representatives subcommittee overseeing the United States Postal Service, called the move to invest in more gas-powered trucks “antediluvian” and a threat to the government’s ability to combat climate change.

“The average age of the mail fleet is 30,” said Mr Connolly. “They vomit pollution and nauseating gas. There’s no question that we need to change the fleet, and taking electric vehicle technology to the next level with the second largest fleet of vehicles in America is a once-in-a-generation opportunity.”

“If we miss this opportunity, it will undo all the thrust of the electric vehicle agenda,” he said.

The Postal Service has more than 231,000 vehicles, one of the largest civilian fleets in the world. Distinctive red, white, and blue trucks travel the country from congested cities to quiet rural towns. An all-electric fleet would not only deliver environmental benefits and help an emerging manufacturing sector, but also serve as a powerful symbol of management committed to accelerating the transition from fossil fuels.

Mr Connolly has called for a surveillance hearing to review the contract between the government and Oshkosh Defense, a Wisconsin-based company that manufactures military vehicles. Other Democrats said They wanted the board overseeing the post office to fire Mr. DeJoy.

The order for up to 165,000 trucks will be the Postal Service’s first large-scale vehicle purchase in three decades, according to a statement from Oshkosh Defense.

Both the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Environmental Quality Council wrote to Mr. DeJoy on Wednesday to say that the Postal Service made the wrong decision to purchase gasoline-powered trucks based on an inaccurate environmental analysis.

The letters also stated that the Postal Service improperly committed more than $480 million to begin engineering and construction before the flawed environmental investigation was completed.

“The Postal Service’s proposal, which is now being drafted, represents a crucial lost opportunity to more quickly reduce the carbon footprint of one of the largest government fleets in the world,” said Vicki Arroyo, EPA’s assistant director of policy. The agency letter was first reported by The Washington Post.

Postal Service spokesman Kim Frum said they were examining letters from environmental agencies.

Ms. Frum said the post office “fully complies” with the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires institutions to consider the environmental consequences before taking any major action. He said the concerns raised by the White House and EPA arose from “policy disagreements” rather than the analysis itself.

“While we can understand why some people who are not responsible for the financial sustainability of the Postal Service may choose to buy more electric vehicles, the law requires us to be self-sufficient,” Ms Frum said in a statement. “Therefore, given our current financial situation, our delivery vehicle fleet should be part of our total cost of ownership analysis.”

Ms. Frum said the Postal Service wanted to accelerate the pace of electrifying its fleet, depending on funding. He did not respond to the congressman’s call for Mr DeJoy’s resignation.

President Biden has urged federal agencies to phase out the purchase of gasoline-powered vehicles and purchase only zero-emission cars and trucks by 2035. But last February, the Postal Service said it couldn’t afford an all-electric fleet, and that 10 percent of new trucks will be electric and 90 percent gasoline. The EPA estimated the climate damage caused by the new fleet at $900 million.

“This is in direct contradiction to the goals both Congress and the president have set to have an emissions-free federal fleet,” said Mr Connolly. He described the contract as a “great example” of why he felt Mr DeJoy should step down.

“I would love for him to resign, and I would like the board to fire him if he doesn’t resign,” said Mr Connolly.

Currently, electric vehicles represent about 1.5 percent of the state fleet. According to management, in fiscal 2021, management has purchased 650 electric vehicles and hopes to increase that number severalfold this year and beyond. The government buys about 50,000 vehicles a year, most of them replacements.

The Postal Service is an independent agency and is not bound by the administration’s new climate rules.

A White House official on Wednesday said the administration still plans to force the Postal Service to electrify its fleet.

The service currently owes about $206.4 billion, and the House is poised to ease that burden with a sweeping postal reform bill expected to come to the table for a vote in the coming weeks.

Mr Connolly said he would support an amendment that voids the truck contract or forces the post office to purchase electric vehicles. However, he also noted that negotiating the postal reform law took 12 years and is currently supported by a “fragile” bipartisan coalition that he does not want to upset.

“I don’t want a Pyrrhic victory on this one where it drops the whole bill,” he said.

Mr Connolly said he and other Democrats will seek other avenues, including passing independent legislation on the matter or using the appropriations process to move the Postal Service.

Biden’s most important legislative agenda, the Build Back Better Act, includes nearly $6 billion to help the post office pay for electric vehicles and charging stations. This bill was stopped in Congress.

Mr. DeJoy, a Republican fundraiser and former business executive appointed by former President Donald J. Trump, is stuck in a quagmire. argument excessive cost-cutting measures that are flawed slowing mail delivery Delays in the delivery of drugs and bills in the 2020 election, where many voters plan to vote by mail.

Mr. DeJoy proposed a 10-year plan that would raise some prices and slow down service in an effort to offset billions of dollars in estimated losses.

The postmaster general can only be dismissed by the Postal Service’s nine-member board of directors appointed by the president. Congressional Democrats and liberal groups have sought to replace Mr DeJoy since he took office in June 2020, urging Biden to install more Democrats on the board who could topple him.

in November, Mr. Biden nominates two new membersDan Tangherlini, Democrat and former head of the General Services Administration, and Derek Kan, a Republican and former deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. If confirmed by the Senate, they will replace two of the departing members whose terms of office have expired and are allies of Mr. DeJoy. According to the law, no more than five members can be members of the same party.