16 States Sue Administration Again Over EV Charging Funds
States and D.C. Say Withholding $2 Billion in Funds Is Unlawful
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DETROIT — Sixteen states and the District of Columbia are suing the Trump administration for what they say is the unlawful withholding of over $2 billion in funding for two electric vehicle charging programs.
A federal lawsuit filed Dec. 16 in Seattle is thelatest legal battlethat Democratic-led states are pursuing over funding forEV charging infrastructurethat they say was obligated to them by Congress under former President Joe Biden, but that the Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration are “impounding.”
“The Trump administration’s illegal attempt to stop funding for electric vehicle infrastructure must come to an end,” California Attorney General . “This is just another reckless attempt that will stall the fight against air pollution and climate change, slow innovation, thwart green job creation, and leave communities without access to clean, affordable transportation."
President Donald Trump's administration has beenhostile to EVsand has dismantled several Biden-era policies friendly to cleaner cars and trucks in favor of policies that align with Trump’soil and gas industry agenda.
Transportation Department officials did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The Trump administration in February ordered states to halt spending money forEV chargingthat was allocated in the bipartisan infrastructure law passed under the previous administration.
Together with , , and , we’re suing the Trump Admin for unlawfully suspending two electric vehicle charging infrastructure grant programs that would reduce pollution, expand access to clean vehicles, and create thousands of green jobs. — Rob Bonta (@AGRobBonta)
Several states filed alawsuit in Mayagainst the administration for withholding the funding from the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program for a nationwide charging buildout. Afederal judge later ordered the administrationto release much of the funding for chargers in more than a dozen states.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later issued revised guidance intended to streamline funding applications for states and make charger deployment more efficient. At least four states — Georgia, Illinois, Maryland and Wisconsin — have announced awards under the vehicle infrastructure program, according to Loren McDonald, chief analyst at EV data firm Chargeonomics, who tracks the state awards.
The separate lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington on Dec. 16, addresses withholding of funds for two other programs: $1.8 billion for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant program, as well as about $350 million for the Electric Vehicle Charger Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator program.
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The lawsuit is led by attorneys general from California and Colorado, joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia, and the governor of Pennsylvania. All are Democrats.
After returning to office in January, Trump immediatelyordered an endto what he has called Biden's “EV mandate.” While Biden targeted forhalf of new vehicle salesin the U.S. to be electric by 2030, his policies did not force American consumers to buy EVs or automakers to sell them.
Biden did set stringent tailpipe emissions and fuel economy rules in an effort to encourage more widespread EV adoption, as the auto industry would have had to meet both sets of requirements with a greater number of EVs in their sales mix. Under the Biden administration, consumers could also receive up to$7,500 in tax incentivesoff the price of an EV purchase, a program thatcongressional Republicans endedlast fall.
The Trump administration has proposed rolling backboth tailpipe emissions rulesand thegas mileage standardsand eliminated fines to automakers for not meeting those standards.
Trump has also repeated incorrect information about the status of the federal charging programs; without all of the funds available, only a fraction of what was obligated has been spent so far.
“We had to have an electric car within a very short period of time, even though there was no way of charging them and lots of other things,” Trump said in a Dec. 3 press conference about the proposed weakened fuel economy rules. “In certain parts of the Midwest, they spent — to build nine chargers they spent $8 billion. So, that wasn’t working out too well.”
The lawsuit comes amid those regulatory changes and as the pace of EV sales have slowed in the U.S. as mainstream buyers remain concerned about both charging availability and the price of the vehicles.
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New EVs sold for an average of $58,638 last month, compared with $49,814 for a new vehicle overall, according to auto buying resource Kelley Blue Book.
Automakers, meanwhile, have responded to consumers accordingly.
Earlier this week, Ford Motor Co. announcedit was pivoting awayfrom its once-ambitious, multibillion-dollar electrification strategy in lieu of more hybrid-electric and more fuel-efficient gasoline-powered vehicles.
In the spring, Honda Motor Co. also said it wouldtake a significant step backfrom its EV efforts.
Associated Press writer Matthew Daly in Washington contributed to this report.
