- Several states have prevailed in a lawsuit against the Trump administration over EV charger funding.
- Congress approved billions of dollars in funding, but it was eventually paused earlier this year.
- A preliminary injunction could go into effect next month, but the federal government may appeal.
The Trump administration has suffered another blow, this time from a U.S. District Judge in Washington. She ordered the government to release billions in funding for new electric vehicle charging stations.
In a lengthy ruling, which started off with a reference to a Simpsons episode, the judge noted Congress appropriated $5 billion to fund a National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program to “strategically deploy electric vehicle charging infrastructure and to establish an interconnected network to facilitate data collection, access, and reliability.”
Despite the ruling, several states argued the Trump administration and his Secretary of Transportation decided they “would disregard Congress’s mandate.”
More: Trump Administration Hits Pause On EV Charger Funding
As part of this effort, the Federal Highway Administration rescinded its administrative guidance on the program, revoked state deployment plans, and stopped distributing funds. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia cried foul as the program was approved by Congress during the Biden administration.
They argued the move “represented an unlawful seizure of legislative authority under the separation-of-powers doctrine enshrined in the United States Constitution and an overextension of executive authority beyond what is permitted by law.”
While that’s the gist of the argument, Judge Tana Lin sided with Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin. As a result, she ordered a preliminary injunction that prevents the government from suspending or revoking any previously-approved electric vehicle infrastructure deployment plans from the aforementioned states.
The government also can’t withhold previously approved funding. However, the injunction was stayed and won’t go into effect until July 2. That being said, if the government appeals, the injunction won’t take place.
What happens next remains to be seen, but ABC News noted the Trump administration argued that the program was simply paused until new guidance was developed. Regardless, the delays and lawsuits will likely continue to slow the growth of America’s charging network.
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