More than a dozen states sue Department of Transportation over EV charging station funds

A group of blue states joined forces Wednesday to sue the Trump administration after it halted a program that federally funded electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

The District of Columbia joined 16 states — including California, Colorado and Washington — in a suit over the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)’s efforts to halt Congress’ $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program to expand electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.

A Tesla supercharging location on Kipling Street June 3, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)

President Donald Trump on Jan. 20 mandated that federal agencies pause disbursement of all funds appropriated under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, including NEVI program funding. 

The Federal Highway Administration notified states in February that it was revoking previous state plan approvals and withholding or withdrawing NEVI program funds.

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The lawsuit claims the FHWA is acting unlawfully, devastating the ability of states to build the charging infrastructure needed to make EVs accessible to more consumers, combat climate change and pollution and support the states’ green economies. 

It asks the court to declare Trump’s directives unlawful, vacate the actions and permanently stop the administration from withholding the funds. 

California is poised to require 100% of new cars, trucks and SUVs sold in the state to be powered by electricity or hydrogen by 2035.  (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

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In addition to the $300 million and $71 million in funding California and Washington stand to lose, respectively, the blue states previously adopted zero-emission vehicle standards that require a percentage of vehicles sold in the states to release zero emissions.

Washington’s laws further require all new passenger cars, light-duty trucks and medium-duty vehicles sold in the state to be zero emissions by 2035. 

California’s State Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Plan anticipated that California would need hundreds of thousands of additional EV charging ports to support passenger cars and trucks and “incrementally more” charging ports for medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses to meet climate goals, according to a news release from the state.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom said the action halting federal EV infrastructure funding is “illegal.” (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

“When America retreats, China wins,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in the release. “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.” 

The lawsuit comes as Democratic politicians, late-night hosts and political commentators have been touting Tesla’s plummeting stock and acts of vandalism against its vehicles, dealerships and charging stations.

The criminal acts have been linked by the FBI to nationwide protests against Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

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California, Colorado and Washington are leading the suit, joined by attorneys general from Arizona, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.