Seventeen Democratic attorneys general filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Trump administration for pausing a $5 billion program that was aimed at building an array of electric vehicle chargers around the nation.
Congress in 2022 passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which established and funded the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure formula program. It provided $5 billion to help encourage the sale of electric vehicles to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
But, upon taking office, Trump issued an executive order halting the funds’ disbursement. Some of the $5 billion has already been distributed, but roughly $3 billion likely remains, according to one estimate.
The suit calls on the court to declare Trump’s directive unlawful and to repeal the withholding of the funds to the states. The states argue that the order runs afoul of the federal Administrative Procedure Act, and violates the U.S. Constitution, given that the program was created by statute and is a formula program, under which the amounts paid to states are allocated by Congress, not the president.
California, the suit’s lead plaintiff, stands to lose $300 million and thousands of jobs. The order also hurts an emerging tech industry in the state.
“Once again, Trump’s actions go beyond the scope of his presidential power,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said at a press conference. “We have always said the president has a great deal of authority as the President of the United States, but he can only do lawful things, not unlawful things, and unfortunately, he has been taking unlawful actions at a pace of more than once a week, and so we have promised to meet him in court each and every time he breaks the law and hurts California.”
The suit marks the 19th time California has sued the Trump administration in 15 weeks.
California is joined in the suit by Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.
In Colorado, officials with the state Department of Transportation and the Colorado Energy Office worked together to develop plans to disburse $57 million in funding, with $44 million approved by the Federal Highway Administration for use in fiscal years 2022 to 2025.
The state has already awarded $33 million, with contractual guarantees of $18 million. The FHWA has only distributed $8 million, leaving the state and its contractors in an uncertain position, according to Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser. If the cuts are allowed to stand, the state will have to choose between cutting the program entirely or making cuts to other programs on which Coloradans rely.
“Colorado has already made significant progress in developing the foundation for infrastructure needed for widespread electric vehicle adoption, and the state’s federally approved plans were designed to fill gaps in rural Colorado and other underserved communities,” Weiser said in a statement. “Congress had the foresight to authorize funding to build this important infrastructure, and it must be restored immediately.”