A coalition of 17 states has filed a federal suit contending that President Donald Trump’s administration is unlawfully withholding billions of dollars in congressionally approved funds meant for the expansion of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Led by attorneys general from California, Washington and Colorado, the states claim the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) — acting under an executive order issued by Trump on his first day in office — is withholding $5 billion in funding for EV charging infrastructure “in diametric opposition to statutory mandate,” according to the complaint filed with the U.S. District Court in Seattle.
The states seek a preliminary injunction to stop FHWA from withholding the funds and a court order declaring their actions unlawful.
“When America retreats, China wins. 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,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement announcing the suit. “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.”
Congress approved the funding under the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. But following Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order called Unleashing American Energy, the FHWA has refused to comply with its obligations to distribute the money to states and has instead withheld the money, the complaint alleges. (See Trump Will Need More than Orders to Meet Rising Demand.)
The states argue the federal government’s actions hinder their EV efforts, saying, “The harms to plaintiff states will continue and become increasingly damaging if unabated.”
“Plaintiff states each have invested in programs to encourage adoption of EVs as a means of reducing smog, air toxics and other harmful pollution from combustion engine vehicle emissions, which cause grave health problems such as cancer and asthma and [contribute] to the devastating effects of climate change in these states,” the suit states.
California accounts for more than 30% of all zero-emission vehicles sold in the U.S., and the FHWA’s actions could cost the state more than $300 million, risk thousands of jobs and thwart the tech industry, according to a statement.
Under the executive order, Trump directed all agencies to pause funding appropriated through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, including money for EV infrastructure. Specifically, the order aims to eliminate the EV “mandate” and the “Green New Deal” in an effort to “promote true consumer choice” and get rid of “unfair subsidies and other ill-conceived government-imposed market distortions that favor EVs over other technologies and effectively mandate their purchase by individuals,” the order states.
However, the states claim in the suit that “agencies have no authority to rescind or revise statutes, or to withhold funds duly appropriated by Congress based on the president’s disagreement with the policies and priorities of Congress.”
The directive was one of several Trump issued on his first day in office this January, which also included one addressing an “energy emergency.”
The suit follows a similar complaint filed May 5 by a group of 18 Democratic state attorneys over Trump’s decision to halt wind energy projects’ federal approvals. (See State Attorneys General Sue Trump for Halting Wind Approvals.)
The complainants in that lawsuit include states that were allegedly banking on major offshore wind projects that have been interrupted, such as New Jersey and New York, as well as many impacted by the order’s impact on onshore wind, such as California and New Mexico.
