CALIFORNIA IS SUING the Federal Highway Administration for withholding funding designated for building electric vehicle charging stations, state Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Wednesday in Burlingame.
The joint lawsuit, which was filed on Wednesday with 16 other states, marks the 19th suit that California has brought against President Donald Trump’s administration since he took office in January.
The suit argues that pulling billions of dollars previously approved by Congress for EV charging stations is illegal.
“We’re just at over 100 days now, and this lawsuit is about the Federal Highway Administration’s unlawful action that deprived states billions of dollars in appropriated funds,” Bonta said during a press conference at an EV charging station in Burlingame.
On the first day of his administration, Trump issued an executive order called “Unleashing American Energy.” It called for an immediate suspension of distributing federal funds toward clean-energy initiatives.
The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, or NEVI Formula Program, was named as one of the projects to lose funding. It was created during former president Joe Biden’s administration to invest in the construction of EV charging stations.
Congress already appropriated $5 billion dollars to the NEVI Formula Program, with $300 million going to California.
“Trump’s actions go beyond the scope of his presidential power. We are meeting him in court once again.”
Attorney General Rob Bonta
But Trump’s executive order sought to bypass Congress’ decision, an action that Bonta says is a violation of law.
“Trump’s actions go beyond the scope of his presidential power,” Bonta said. “We are meeting him in court once again. By canceling congressionally approved funding, this unlawful Executive Order violates the Constitution. It tramples over the separation of powers.”
California has been a national leader in its support for EV’s, mainly since the vehicles have no tailpipe emissions. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, EV’s emit less greenhouse gases than gas-powered vehicles, thus being an attractive alternative for climate advocates.
“The electricity that is powering these vehicles is coming predominantly from clean energy,” said state Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild at the press conference. “The whole vehicle fleet that we’re seeing is reducing pollution at the generation source as well as from the tailpipe.”
In 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order mandating that all new cars and passenger trucks sold in the state be zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
To meet the anticipated demand, the California Energy Commission estimated that a total of 1.2 million charging stations will be needed throughout the state by 2030, according to the state’s deployment plan for the NEVI Formula Program.
Without the funding needed to expand the number of charging stations throughout the state, Trump’s executive order could be a major setback for the state’s EV mandate.
“Taking away these funds will harm California’s ability to build the charging infrastructure necessary for making electric vehicles accessible to more consumers, our ability to continue making meaningful steps to combat climate change, reduce harmful pollution, and support a greener economy,” Bonta said.
The federal government has begun imposing additional obstacles impeding the state’s goal to expand use of EV’s. Just last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to reverse California’s requirement that all new vehicles sold in the state be zero-emission by 2035.
Bonta and the attorneys general of the 16 other states that filed the suit want the courts to step in and declare that Trump’s directive to circumvent funding previously approved by Congress is unlawful.
“The actions of the Trump administration’s Federal Highway Administration are not only short sighted, they are illegal,” Bonta said. “We won’t sit back while the Trump administration violates the law. We’ll see Trump again in court.”
