District judge declares withholding of federal charging infrastructure funds unlawful

A district judge in Seattle has ruled that the US federal government must release funding withheld for the construction of charging stations for electric vehicles in 14 states, including California, New York, Illinois and Washington. The ruling was based on the finding that the states had a good chance of succeeding with their lawsuits against the suspension of the funding.

California and 16 other states challenged the Trump administration’s freeze on the nationwide allocation of new funding for charging infrastructure in May, just passed. The ruling now passed by U.S. District Judge Tana Lin, deeming the withholding of allocated funds as being illegal, will come into force in seven days, giving the Trump administration time to appeal.

Lin’s ruling did not apply to the District of Columbia, Minnesota and Vermont, which also sued over the withholding of charging infrastructure funds with the argument here that they had not provided evidence that they would suffer immediate harm as a result. She said the 14 states that must now have funds released had provided evidence that they were harmed by the withholding of funds because they had already dedicated their own resources to charging infrastructure with the expectation that funds from the federal government would be forthcoming, as allocated.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated, “The administration cannot dismiss programs illegally, like the bipartisan Electric Vehicle Infrastructure formula program, just so that the President’s Big Oil friends can continue basking in record-breaking profits.”

This is just the latest of many measures in a battle between legacy fossil fuel interests backed by President Trump and US states that want to move forward with the decarbonisation of their transport sectors and keep up with the global transition to green technology. Earlier this month, the US Supreme Court revived a challenge by fossil fuel producers against California’s strict vehicle emissions rules, casting doubt on the state’s planned 2035 ban on new petrol cars. The ruling could significantly impact EV policy leadership in the nation’s largest auto market. Also this month, following the House of Representatives, the US Senate cleared the way for the abolition of the ‘Clean Vehicle Credit’ programme. The measure previously guaranteed buyers of electric vehicles a tax credit of up to USD 7,500.

The successful lawsuit brought by 14 states stated that the withholding of already allocated funds “will devastate the ability of states to build the charging infrastructure necessary for making EVs accessible to more consumers, combating climate change, reducing other harmful pollution, and supporting the states’ green economies.”

The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently released its oil market report for 2025 and beyond, showing that the global uptake of electric vehicles was significantly diminishing oil demand and would continue to do so, irrespective of the US market. Not only China, but also India, together representing the world’s most populous markets, have introduced policies to ensure greater energy security and eliminate national dependence on oil resources.

reuters.com