Judge orders Trump admin to release billions in EV charging funds
In a ruling Tuesday, US District Judge Tana Lin granted a preliminary injunction to require distribution of funds for National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) development, which allotted $5 billion for use from 2022 to 2026.
Signed into law by former president Joe Biden in 2021, the Trump administration's Department of Transportation defunded NEVI in February, axing expected funding for 16 states and the District of Columbia.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly called climate change a "hoax," abandoned electric vehicle booster programs and campaigned to drill for oil extensively.
Trump has also blocked California's plan to ban internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035.
Seventeen attorneys general sued the Trump administration to unfreeze funds in May, led by California, the state with the largest number of electric vehicles.
"It is no secret that the Trump Administration is beholden to the fossil fuel agenda," said California Attorney General Rob Bonta, adding legal programs can't be dismantled "just so that the President's Big Oil friends can continue basking in record-breaking profits."
"We are pleased with today's order blocking the Administration's unconstitutional attempt to do so, and California looks forward to continuing to vigorously defend itself from this executive branch overreach," the Democrat added.
The Trump administration has until July 2 to appeal or release funds under Lin's order, which applies to Washington, Colorado, California, Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.
Federal transportation and justice officials did not immediately indicate whether they intend to appeal.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LeMonde
6 hours ago
- LeMonde
Bruce Springsteen unveils his 'lost albums' with the box set 'Tracks II'
The "dried-up prune," as Donald Trump described him in language hardly befitting a president of the United States, refuses to be intimidated. At 75, Bruce Springsteen remains one of the few American artists, alongside his friend Robert De Niro, to openly denounce the current administration, which he has condemned as "corrupt, incompetent and treasonous." He has repeated these criticisms at every stop on his European tour, which is set to conclude on Thursday, July 3, in Milan, denouncing attacks on freedom speech, workers' rights, universities, migrants and "abandoning our great allies and siding with dictators." In response to Trump's slogan "Make America Great Again," the Democrat, who is close to Barack Obama, offers his own: "Land of Hope and Dreams," a vision of a hopeful, inclusive country. The title echoes "This Land is Your Land," the song written by American folksinger Woody Guthrie in 1940 as a rebuttal to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America." First performed in the late 1990s and inspired by The Impressions' 1965 civil rights anthem, "Land of Hope and Dreams" now gives its name to Springsteen's current tour and a four-track live EP recorded on May 14 in Manchester. Springsteen stands by his words, as his diatribes against the occupant of the White House are included in the release.
Euronews
8 hours ago
- Euronews
Iran: critical uranium enrichment could be matter of months, watchdog
Iran may be able to restart its uranium enrichment in a "matter of months", according to Rafael Grossi, Director General of the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency. Meanwhile during an interview with FOX News on Sunday US President Donald Trump said sanctions on Iran could be lifted if they agree to move forward in a peaceful manner, "We have the sanctions. But if they do what they have to, if they can be peaceful and if they show us that they won't do any more damage, I would revoke them, and it would make a big difference," Trump said. On 22 June, the United States launched multiple joint attacks with Israel against three of Iran's nuclear facilities: Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. Trump had said the facilities were "totally obliterated" and the attacks had set Iran's nuclear programme back "by decades". But Grossi told CBS News on Saturday that "The capacities they have are there. They can have,... in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium." Adding, "But as I said, frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there." Different voices on extent of damage caused by strikes On 25 June, a leaked preliminary Pentagon assessment also found that Iran's nuclear programme has possibly only been set back by a few months. Following the outing of the report, US President Donald Trump threatened to force journalists to reveal who leaked the report which contradicted his narrative on Iran's bombing. Meanwhile in Iran, on the one hand its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the strikes had not achieved anything significant, but on the other, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said "excessive and serious" damage has been done. International Atomic Energy Agency leader Grossi has enquired to inspect the damaged facilities, however Tehran has rejected the request and on Wednesday voted to suspend its relationship with the IAEA, accusing it of siding with Israel and the US as it did not condemn the attacks on Iran. But Grossi stays hopeful that the IAEA will be able to rebuild its relationship with Tehran. On Saturday, he said, "I have to sit down with Iran and look into this, because at the end of the day, this whole thing, after the military strikes, we will have to have a long-lasting solution, which cannot be but a diplomatic one." In 2015, Iran and world powers reached a nuclear deal that barred Tehran from enriching uranium above 3.67% purity — the limit set for civilian nuclear use — and was banned from conducting enrichment at its Fordo plant until 2030. Iran, which has always insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful, is a signatory of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and is required to submit to IAEA inspections. But in 2018, Trump retracted the US from the deal, saying it failed to do enough to block Iran's route to a nuclear weapon, and reinstated American sanctions. By contrast, Israel is not part of the NPT and while Tel Aviv has never said whether it possesses nuclear arms or not, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the country is estimated to have at least 80 nuclear weapons. Israel began attacking Iran on 13 June, claiming Iran was close to building a nuclear weapon. Following a 12-day war, Iran and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire, however Trump said he would "absolutely" consider bombing Iran again if intelligence found enough evidence that Iran's enrichment of uranium rose to worrying levels.
LeMonde
9 hours ago
- LeMonde
Trump delays TikTok ban again, grants app 90-day extension to find US buyer
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday, June 19, he had given social media platform TikTok another 90 days to find a non-Chinese buyer or be banned in the United States. "I've just signed the Executive Order extending the Deadline for the TikTok closing for 90 days (September 17, 2025)," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, putting off the ban for the third time. A federal law requiring TikTok's sale or ban on national security grounds was due to take effect the day before Trump's January inauguration. The Republican, whose 2024 election campaign relied heavily on social media, has previously said he is fond of the video-sharing app. "I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok," Trump said in an NBC News interview in early May. "If it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension." TikTok on Thursday welcomed Trump's decision. "We are grateful for President Trump's leadership and support in ensuring that TikTok continues to be available for more than 170 million American users," said a statement issued by the platform. Digital Cold War? Trump said in May that a group of purchasers was ready to pay TikTok owner ByteDance "a lot of money" for the video-clip-sharing sensation's US operations. Trump has repeatedly downplayed risks that TikTok is in danger, saying he remains confident of finding a buyer for the app's US business. The White House had announced Monday that Trump would throw the wildly popular video-sharing app, which has almost 2 billion global users, another lifeline. During this new grace period the administration will work "to ensure this deal is closed so that the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure," the administration said in a statement.
