Latest news with #NationalElectricVehicleInfrastructureFormulaProgram
UPI
4 days ago
- Business
- UPI
Judges orders Trump to unfreeze EV charging infrastructure funds
A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration must unfreeze funds Congress previously allocated for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. File Photo by Sarah Silbiger/UPI | License Photo June 25 (UPI) -- A federal judge has ordered President Donald Trump and his administration to release billions of Congress-approved dollars for electric vehicle charging infrastructure that they froze shortly after returning to the White House. In her 66-page ruling Tuesday, Judge Tana Lin in Seattle found that President Donald Trump violated the separation-of-powers doctrine enshrined in the Constitution and overextended executive authority when he halted the distribution of funds earmarked to expand the United States' EV charging network. The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed in early May by 16 states and the District of Columbia. However, Lin, a President Joe Biden appointee, only awarded a partial preliminary injunction, ordering the Trump administration to disburse the money to 14 of the states. D.C., Minnesota and Vermont did not provide sufficient evidence demonstrating "the irreparable harm that would befall them absent injunctive relief." "Although these three Plaintiffs, like the other established sufficient injury to satisfy the ripeness requirement ... they have not provided any testimony, beyond what is alleged in the complaint, that demonstrates, say, a delayed or canceled project, a budget thrown into chaos or a withdrawn request for proposals," she wrote. On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order titled Unleashing American Energy that directed federal agencies to pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through Biden's $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, including funds for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program. In early February, the Department of Transportation, directed under the executive order, rescinded guidance for the NEVI Formula Program and indefinitely suspended the approval of all current and future state EV infrastructure deployment plans. The states filed their lawsuit, accusing the Trump administration of not only illegally withholding the funds but also that doing so would inflict harm. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the freezing of the funds would cost the state more than $300 million while eliminating thousands of jobs. "The administration cannot dismiss programs illegally, like the bipartisan Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, just so that the President's Big Oil friends can continue basking in record-breaking profits," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement Tuesday in response to Lin's ruling. "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." Lin's preliminary injunction will go into effect July 2 unless the Trump administration appeals.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program funding freeze will exacerbate charging deserts, analysts say
The Trump administration's attempt to withhold funding allocated through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program will intensify the division between the charging haves and have-nots. President Donald Trump's targeting of the program's funds, the subject of a lawsuit filed this week, demonstrates the president's commitment to reducing government support for an EV transition. The program is small compared to the charging infrastructure network being developed by private companies such as Tesla and ChargePoint and with site hosts such as Walmart, Circle K and Pilot. There are now 75 National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program-funded sites open with 395 ports, making up roughly 0.7 percent of the total number of public DC fast charging stations in the U.S., according to Paren, an EV charging analytics firm. The Federal Highway Administration has been steadily approving state plans — as of Feb. 6, the agency was obligated to pay $3.27 billion of the $5 billion for states' approved plans through 2025. Sign up for the weekly Automotive News Mobility Report newsletter for the latest developments at the intersection of transportation and technology. The infrastructure program was designed to solve a pressing problem — private industry has been unable or unwilling to build chargers in areas without significant EV adoption. If the Trump administration succeeds in pulling back the funds, a transition from combustion engine autos to EVs will take longer. 'What it's leading to is a charger utilization divide,' said Loren McDonald, chief analyst at Paren. 'The rich are going to get richer and the poor are going to get poorer, meaning that we're going to see more and more stations being built in Miami and Atlanta and Los Angeles and San Francisco and Austin and New York and Boston — not so much in Bismarck, N.D.' Congress appropriated $5 billion over five years for the EV infrastructure program through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The program was designed to prioritize infrastructure along highways, padding the already developing charging landscape in urban areas and in states with significant EV adoption. The intent was 'not to build a lot of stations but to be very strategic about where they were,' said McDonald. States were required to submit plans for how they intended to use the money allocated by Congress, and then they could access the funds. On Trump's first day in office, he signed a flurry of executive orders, including 'Unleashing American Energy,' which targeted measures perceived to enforce an 'electric vehicle mandate.' The order said that 'all agencies shall immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated' through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, 'including but not limited to funds for electric vehicle charging stations made available through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program.' Then, on Feb. 6, the Federal Highway Administration said in a letter to states that it would rescind the EV infrastructure program guidance and suspend past and future approvals of state plans using the Biden-era guidance. Now, states are suing. 'The President directed agencies to withhold congressionally appropriated funds, including NEVI Formula Program funds, as a tool to terminate programs the President dislikes,' the complaint says. '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.' Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin filed suit against the U.S. Department of Transportation, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, the Federal Highway Administration and the acting administrator of the Federal Highway Administration Gloria Shepherd on May 7. The states cite several real-world consequences of the administration's orders to withhold funding. An awardee in California, for example, has requested to withdraw its project because of the Federal Highway Administration letter, the suit alleges. The state also reported that site hosts for charging stations decided not to enter agreements after learning that the highway administration was withholding the funds. 'The withholding of NEVI Formula Program funds threatens the successful execution of grant agreements with the awardees of California's second solicitation and will likely result in potential applicants declining to participate in the third solicitation at all,' the suit says. States are not the only entities slated to be impacted if the administration succeeds. After all, National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program funds were intended to encourage EV adoption and soothe range anxiety for parts of the country currently underserved by charging companies. 'If you're going to interfere with and interrupt the uptake and adoption of electric vehicles, getting rid of stimulated charging infrastructure in remote areas is a very good way to do it,' said Conrad Layson, senior alternative propulsion analyst at AutoForecast Solutions. Have an opinion about this story? Tell us about it and we may publish it in print. Click here to submit a letter to the editor.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Wisconsin joins suit against Trump's order cutting off vehicle charging station funds
An electric car charges up at a charging station in New York. Wisconsin has joined 14 other states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit against the Trump administration for cutting off federal funds that had been approved for states to build up their electric vehicle charging networks. (Photo by) A group of states, including Wisconsin, that were promised federal funds to establish electric vehicle charging station networks sued the Trump administration and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy this week for cutting off the promised grants. 'The Trump Administration and Secretary Duffy are singlehandedly trying to block Wisconsin from receiving the investments we were promised,' Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement Thursday. 'It's bad for the people of Wisconsin, it's bad for our infrastructure, it's bad for our economy, and it's illegal.' The lawsuit alleges that President Donald Trump's executive order blocking electric vehicle charging station grants was illegal. The lawsuit was filed late Wednesday in federal court in the state of Washington, which is the lead plaintiff among the suit's 15 states and the District of Columbia. Trump's order 'Unleashing American Energy,' signed the day he was inaugurated, told federal agencies to pause the distribution of funds that were appropriated during the Biden administration as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act or the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. The order said the pause was 'including but not limited to funds for electric vehicle charging stations made available through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program.' The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, or NEVI, is part of the 2021 infrastructure law. Wisconsin has been approved for $62.65 million in funding under the program for 15 EV infrastructure projects that were held up after Trump's order. The governor's office said several projects were 'located in the congressional district that now-Secretary Duffy used to represent in the U.S. Congress.' Trump's order stated that it was written to eliminate an 'electric vehicle (EV) mandate.' No such mandate exists, the lawsuit points out. 'But in the name of eliminating this fictional mandate, the Executive Order directs the Federal Highway Administration … to usurp the legislative and spending powers reserved to Congress by withholding congressionally appropriated funding for electric vehicle ('EV') charging infrastructure required by statute to be distributed to States,' the lawsuit states. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Washington AG sues after Trump administration freezes $71 million program for EV charging stations in Eastern Washington
May 7—Washington is leading a multi-state lawsuit against the Trump administration for terminating billions in funding for electric vehicle infrastructure, which stifled plans to expand electric vehicle infrastructure in Eastern Washington. The program, included in the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, would distribute $5 billion to states to install electric vehicle charging stations and "establish an interconnected network to facilitate data collection, access, and reliability," according to the Federal Highway Administration. The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program was set to award $71 million in grant funding to install electric vehicle charging stations along priority "alternative fuel corridors" throughout Eastern Washington. According to the lawsuit, President Donald Trump froze all funding included in the Inflation Reduction Act, including the funds for electric vehicle infrastructure, on his first day in office. "The president's illegal claw-backs aren't spending reductions — they're cash grabs that rob taxpayers, steamroll Congress, and stifle critical economic development," Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said in a statement. "Washingtonians are switching to electric vehicles at one of the highest rates in the nation. They deserve safe, reliable infrastructure to get their families from Point A to B." In a Jan. 20 executive order, Trump wrote that "In recent years, burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations have impeded the development of these resources, limited the generation of reliable and affordable electricity, reduced job creation, and inflicted high energy costs upon our citizens. "These high energy costs devastate American consumers by driving up the cost of transportation, heating, utilities, farming, and manufacturing, while weakening our national security," the executive order states. Eliminating subsidies and other funding for electric vehicles, the executive order states, "is essential for economic growth and innovation." In February, Emily Biondi, associate administrator of the Office of Planning, Environment and Realty at the Federal Highway Administration, notified the heads of state transportation departments that new leadership at the agency has "decided to review the policies underlying the implementation" of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program. "Effective immediately, no new obligations may occur under the NEVI Formula Program until the updated final NEVI Formula Program Guidance is issued and new State plans are submitted and approved," Biondi wrote. According to the request for proposal for the program, the Washington State Department of Transportation previously identified five priority "Alternative Fuel Corridors" in the state, most of which would have filled gaps in charging stations for motorists driving to or through the Spokane area, and planned to install between 14 and 19 fueling stations along the corridors throughout the state. Department of Transportation has identified U.S. Highway 195 from Spokane to the Idaho border, U.S. Highway 395 from Spokane to the Canadian border, U.S. Highway 2 from Leavenworth to Newport and Interstate 90 from Seattle to the Idaho border as priority alternative fuel corridors in the program. Under the program, grants would have covered up to 80% of the project costs, with applicants required to cover at least 20%. "WSDOT is tracking existing and planned stations that meet port, power, and distance requirements to ensure deploying NEVI infrastructure meets the most critical gaps on our Interstates and US Routes," the request for proposal states. While Washington received 40 applications for the program by a January deadline, the complaint states that "because Washington does not have funds to cover these projects in the absence of its share of the NEVI Formula Program funding, the State has not been able to select a single awardee." A coalition of 16 other states has joined the lawsuit, which seeks a court order to restore the funding.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
NV deprived of $38M in EV charging funds following Trump program suspension
Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) said Wednesday that the state's NEVI strategy was 'ready to be released when the federal government paused the program, placing the process on hold pending further federal guidance.' (Photo: Ronda Churchill/Nevada Current) The Trump administration halted a federal program that promised Nevada $38 million to build faster, more efficient electric vehicle chargers along the state's highways. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued a memo last week announcing the suspension of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (NEVI) while the U.S. Department of Transportation reevaluates the program, leaving Nevada's $38 million in funds in limbo. The suspension follows a series of funding freezes under the Trump administration targeting climate-related programs financed under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and Inflation Reduction Act, including $7 million in funding for electric school buses, and $20 million for community solar on reservations. Officials with the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) said Wednesday that the state's NEVI strategy was 'ready to be released when the federal government paused the program, placing the process on hold pending further federal guidance.' Nevada is now back at square one and will need to submit new plans specifying how the state plans to deploy unspent funds in accordance with new guidance under the Trump administration, a time-consuming process that will likely delay the states' ability to access charger funds indefinitely. 'NDOT is awaiting further guidance from FHWA and will submit a new state plan for approval once updated federal requirements are provided,' said Kelsey McFarland, a public information officer for the Nevada Department of Transportation. The move by the Trump administration to delay states' access to congressionally obligated funds could be an attempt to circumvent lawsuits temporarily banning his use of broad funding freezes. Unlike earlier funding freezes, the suspension of the NEVI program still allows states to be reimbursed for 'existing obligations' under the EV charger program, meaning states can fulfill existing contracts with companies that won grants to install chargers. However, Nevada has not awarded any of its federal funding, cutting the state off from its entire $38 million in funding and leaving it especially vulnerable to the suspension. Several other states had already managed to award millions in funding under the NEVI program before its suspension. While 37 states issued millions in NEVI awards — with 13 having at least one operational station by the time the program was suspended — Nevada did not. McFarland said Nevada 'faced unique challenges in rolling out NEVI funds, particularly in rural areas where sufficient energy capacity is not readily available to support new EV chargers.' McFarland also said Nevada was slow to deploy awards under the program because NDOT wanted to ensure their plan 'aligned with the state's infrastructure priorities' while 'balancing the need for speed with the responsibility to ensure projects would be eligible for reimbursement.' The purpose of the NEVI program is to build faster, more efficient chargers along highway corridors, specifically DC fast chargers which can charge an electric vehicle from zero to 80% in about 20 minutes. The program was created through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021. Nevada's NEVI plan included large investments to establish fast charging stations along several highways: U.S. Route 95, from Las Vegas to Reno; Interstate 80, from West Wendover in Elko to Reno; and U.S. Route 93 from Las Vegas to Ely. The Trump administration first attempted to suspend the NEVI program last month through an executive order calling for the immediate halt of energy grants, loans, and contracts funded through the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. That order was soon temporarily shut down by a U.S. District Court judge. Beyond targeting chargers, Trump has also promised to cancel a $7,500 federal tax credit for EV purchases and rescind fuel economy standards that are encouraging automakers to shift to EVs. On Tuesday, several Democratic members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee wrote a letter to the recently appointed U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, demanding the immediate reinstatement of the program. The letter questioned the constitutionality of abruptly withholding or postponing funding for programs authorized and funded by Congress and enacted into law. 'Unfortunately, your refusal to release NEVI funds to states is part of a larger, ongoing pattern by the Trump Administration of subverting the Constitution's delegation to Congress of authority over federal spending. As sweeping and vague as recent Executive Orders may be in expressing the administration's policy preferences, they do not provide license under the Constitution to cut off funding for programs authorized and funded by Congress and enacted into law,' reads the letter.
