When the Trump administration kneecapped a key federal program that funds electric-vehicle charging infrastructure in February, it seemed inevitable that lawsuits would follow. Three months later, a group of 16 states, including California, New York, Colorado and Washington, have sued the federal government in an effort to keep money for EV chargers flowing.
"President Trump has unleashed an attack on an increasingly popular consumer choice—the electric vehicle," the coalition of state attorneys general said in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday.
The strongest ire came from California Gov. Gavin Newsom. He said Trump's move to cut EV charger funding amounted to "yet another Trump gift to China," a country that is far ahead of the U.S. in both electric-car adoption and technology.
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"When America retreats, China wins," Newsom said in a statement. "President Trump’s illegal action withholding funds for electric vehicle infrastructure is yet another Trump gift to China—ceding American innovation and killing thousands of jobs."
"Instead of hawking Teslas on the White House lawn, President Trump could actually help Elon—and the nation—by following the law and releasing this bipartisan funding," Newsom said.
The complaint argues that the Department of Transportation lacks the authority to hold back funds that Congress approved for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program. The initiative was created through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021—aka the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—and set aside $5 billion to help states build out DC fast-charging stations along major highways.
In early February, during the Trump administration's chaotic and controversial attempt to cut or claw back funding it didn't agree with across the federal government, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) froze new funding obligations through NEVI, InsideEVs was first to report. The agency said it had revoked every state's NEVI plan, a prerequisite for receiving funding, and that it would issue new guidance for how they should submit new plans in "the spring."
That meant that any contracts state departments of transportation had already signed with charging station developers could proceed and would be funded. However, a state couldn't sign new contracts even if it technically had a congressionally appropriated pool of millions of dollars to draw from. At the time, policy experts and climate advocates said the move wasn't legitimate.
"On a bipartisan basis, Congress funded this program to build a new vehicle charging network nationwide. The Trump administration does not have the authority to halt it capriciously," Beth Hammon, a senior vehicle charging advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a February statement.
The IIJA lays out specific circumstances under which the FHWA can take back or refuse to dole out a state's NEVI funds. There are also other methods a president can follow to ask Congress to rescind appropriated funding. According to the states' lawsuit, the Trump administration failed to do any of that and instead yanked the funding unilaterally and without proper cause.
The president railed against NEVI on the campaign trail, erroneously claiming that the Biden administration had spent $9 billion on eight chargers. While the rollout of chargers has been slow-going, to date funding has helped open 75 stations with 395 charging plugs in 16 states, according to Paren, an EV charging data analytics firm. Many more are in development.
And the billions appropriated through NEVI have not been spent down or obligated to projects yet. The FHWA says that as of February 6, roughly $2.75 billion in NEVI funds that were available to states remained unobligated. Only $44 million had been actually paid out to states, though that number may have risen since. In his budget proposal for 2026, Trump asked Congress to rescind $5.7 billion for "failed electric vehicle charger grant programs."
The move is part of a broader effort from the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers to roll back policies that promote EVs, like tailpipe pollution standards.
On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Congress would likely eliminate the EV tax credit. The Trump administration has also gutted the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, which was created to aid the NEVI rollout.
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