A coalition of states led by Washington, Colorado and California sued the Trump administration on Wednesday, accusing them of illegally withholding billions of dollars allocated by Congress for electric vehicle charging stations across the United States.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021 provided $5 billion to the state to build stations around the country. According to research firm Atlas Public Policy, 71 stations have been built so far, with more being developed.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle, says federal agencies will illegally freeze those funds, suspend approval of new stations, take away critical resources and damage the growing electric vehicle industry.
The White House budget proposal, released last week, said it had cancelled funds for the “Failed Electric Vehicles – Charger Grant Program.” President Trump has already aimed for the program in his January executive order, and the transportation sector continued his same memo next month. However, the lawsuit argued that approval from Congress is required to completely cut funding.
“The president continues to make unconstitutional attempts to withhold funds allocated to programs Congress hates,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. “This time, he's illegally removing billions of dollars for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and everything lined up his big oil friend's pockets.”
Approximately 2 million “zero emission vehicles” are on sale in California. This is one third of the national total and is part of a long-standing effort in the well-known car-centric state to reduce air pollution. California relied on $384 million from the federal program at charging stations, according to Bonta's office.
The state has also invested heavily in charging infrastructure from its own general fund and carbon credit revenue sold to contaminants, bringing California's public and shared private chargers outweigh the nozzles of gas pumps. However, crossing the state line, charging is in space.
The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, or NEVI Program, a federal program launched by President Joseph R. Biden Jr., aimed to build charging networks across urban and states like California as part of an effort to combat climate change.
California officials said Wednesday that one of the biggest beneficiaries of the domestic EV program was China, which has a significant lead in EV manufacturing and overseas sales. The biggest loser would be the country state that billionaire chief executive Elon Musk expected to be EV Tesla, a Trump supporter. Tesla has the largest market share for electric vehicles in the US, despite sales dropping in the first quarter of 2025.
“When America retreates, China wins,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom called federal fund withholding “another Trump gift to China.”
“Instead of hawking Teslas on the White House lawn, President Trump was able to actually help Elon and the country by following the law and freeing up this bipartisan fund,” Newsom said.
Participants in the complaints were attorney generals for the states of Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Vermont and the district of Columbia.
A memo from the Department of Transport to state officials in February said the administration has considered the NEVI program and has suspended approval of the state plan. The lawsuit asks the court to declare the memo illegal and order the administration to release the funds.
The Nevi fundraising website run by Atlas Public Policy shows that at least $521 million in money was awarded and about $44 million was spent. Many of the stations already open are clustered in Ohio and Pennsylvania, data shows.
Loren McDonald, chief analyst at EV analytics firm Paren, said the federal government is a minor player in the EV charging space, with most stations being built by private companies. McDonald said it took a long time to build the bureau and decide where to find a company to bid on the contract and lag behind the construction. He said he already has experience in building charging stations like Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Nevertheless, the plaintiffs said the president's orders were destructive.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement that his state was standing to lose tens of millions of dollars in funding after making “great progress” in laying the foundations for widespread EV adoption. Authorities were planning to use federal support to fill the gap between rural Colorado and underserved communities, he said.
“Congress had the foresight to approve funds to build this critical infrastructure,” Weiser added. “It needs to be restored immediately.”
In Washington, the president's order halts 40 proposed projects and supports $55 million in approved Congressional funding for EV charging.
The White House and the Transportation Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
