Sixteen states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration Dec. 16 in an effort to recover billions of dollars in funding for EV charging infrastructure.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta co-led the lawsuit with Colorado Attorney General Philip Weiser and Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown. Other states joining the complaint are Arizona, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin, as well as the District of Columbia.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court in Seattle, accuses the Trump administration of unlawfully suspending two grant programs for electric vehicle charging infrastructure that Congress approved in 2022 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The programs are the $2.5 billion Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) grant program and the Electric Vehicle Charger Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator program. Both are five-year programs for building or repairing EV chargers.
The IIJA reserved 10% of the $5 billion appropriated for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program for the Accelerator program, which provides grants to states or local governments that need extra help to deploy EV chargers.
The states allege the U.S. Department of Transportation has refused to approve any new funding under the two programs, without any explanation or notice.
The complaint says the Trump administration’s refusal to spend the appropriated EV charger funds is unlawful because it violates the separation of powers and the Administrative Procedure Act. The complaint asks the court to declare the defendants’ actions unlawful and to permanently stop the administration from withholding these funds.
“The Trump administration’s illegal attempt to stop funding for electric vehicle infrastructure must come to an end,” Bonta said in a release. “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.”
The complaint follows legal action taken by states earlier this year seeking the release of funding for the NEVI program. In June, the court found that suspension of the NEVI funds was likely unlawful and granted the plaintiff states’ motion for a preliminary injunction.
In August, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued guidance for states to claim the NEVI funding. (See DOT Issues Guidance to Resume NEVI Funding.)
Environmental Groups Sue
In a separate action on Dec. 16, environmental organizations filed a challenge to the Trump administration’s hold on $2.5 billion in federal funding through the CFI program. The groups include the Sierra Club, Climate Solutions, Natural Resources Defense Council and Earthjustice.
The lawsuit seeks to unfreeze more than 140 EV charging grants totaling nearly $1.8 billion to state and local agencies and tribes. Transportation projects across the country are in jeopardy because of the funding freeze, the groups said.
“If this Congress-approved money isn’t used, it disappears — exactly what the Trump administration is hoping will happen,” Sierra Club Senior Attorney Zachary Fabish said in a release. “We won’t let the Trump administration sit on it any longer.”
