SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — On Tuesday, a federal judge issued an order for the Trump administration to unlock billions in funds intended for developing electric vehicle charging stations in over a dozen states.
U.S. District Judge Tana Lin, presiding in Washington state, partially approved a request to release funds initially sanctioned under former President Joe Biden. Earlier this year, those funds had been withheld by the Trump administration. This decision came after sixteen states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit, claiming the administration lacked the authority to hold back funds that Congress had approved. The funding program, expected to direct $5 billion across five years to various states, had already seen approximately $3.3 billion disbursed.
Judge Lin directed that the funds be released to 14 states, including Arizona, California, and New York. However, she declined the preliminary injunction for the District of Columbia, Minnesota, and Vermont, due to insufficient evidence showing they would suffer “irreparable harm” without immediate access to the funds.
Lin said the Trump administration overstepped its constitutional authority when it froze the funding previously approved by Congress in 2021 as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“When the Executive Branch treads upon the will of the Legislative Branch, and when an administrative agency acts contrary to law, it is the Court’s responsibility to remediate the situation and restore the balance of power,” she wrote.
The order will go into effect July 2 unless the Trump administration appeals. The Federal Highway Administration did not immediately respond to an email request for comment on the decision.
The Trump administration in February directed states to stop spending money for electric vehicle charging under the program. The move was part of a broader push by the Republican president to roll back environmental policies advanced by his Democratic predecessor.
States suing the Trump administration said the decision to freeze funding halted projects midstream, requiring immediate court intervention.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, said after the ruling that the Trump administration could not “dismiss programs illegally.”
“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,” he said in a statement.
The Trump administration argued that it was working on new guidance for the program and was only pausing future funding in the meantime.
The program was meant to assuage concerns about electric vehicles and build infrastructure along highway corridors first, then address gaps elsewhere once the state highway obligations were met.
Some states with projects running under the program have already been reimbursed by the Biden-era federal funds. Others are still contracting for their sites. Still more had halted their plans by the time the Trump administration ordered states to stop their spending. Regardless, getting the chargers installed and operating has been a slow process with contracting challenges, permitting delays and complex electrical upgrades.
It was expected that states would fight against the federal government’s efforts to slow the nation’s electric vehicle charger build out. New York, for example, which is part of the lawsuit, has been awarded over $175 million in federal funds from the program, and state officials say $120 million is currently being withheld by the Trump administration.
