California sues Trump administration over halted EV charging funds
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Tuesday that the state has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over halting federal funding for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
The joint lawsuit followed an executive order President Trump signed on his first day in office, Unleashing American Energy, which directed federal agencies to pause the distribution of certain federally approved clean energy and infrastructure funds, including the two electric vehicle charging programs.
“This lawsuit challenges the Trump administration’s decision to unlawfully halt billions of dollars in federal funding for electric vehicle charging infrastructure here in California,” Bonta said during a press conference he held with Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser on Tuesday.
“We’re talking about just shy of $180 million that were owed for building, repairing and maintaining a network of accessible, fast and reliable EV chargers — funding that was lawfully directed to states and local communities by Congress when it passed the bipartisan infrastructure law,” Bonta said.
The Biden-era bipartisan programs — the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Program — were authorized by Congress in 2021 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Together, the programs were designed to distribute roughly $7.5 billion in federal funding to build and expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Tuesday’s lawsuit targets the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration for withholding approvals for EV charging funds that California depended on for projects already underway.
The California Department of Transportation was in the process of repairing and replacing more than 1,300 public EV charging ports across the state, Bonta said, “until Trump pulled the plug.” The state was also collaborating with other states including Oregon and Washington on zero-emission freight corridors, he added.
“It’s clear that Trump’s promises to his big oil donors have clouded his judgment yet again,” Bonta continued.
“We … refuse to let him bring our fight against air pollution and climate change to a standstill, refuse to let him leave communities without access to clean, affordable transportation, and threaten the innovation and long term potential of the freight industry.”
The lawsuit listed California, 15 other states and the District of Columbia as plaintiffs.
Meanwhile, as Tuesday’s lawsuit marks the state’s 50th lawsuit against the Trump administration since he took office earlier this year, Bonta said California has spent at least $5 million from a $25 million special session appropriation set aside for potential litigation, adding that the lawsuits have since protected an estimated $168 billion in federal funding for the state.
