PHOENIX – Attorney General Kris Mayes and 13 other attorneys general have won a court order blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to withhold about $1 billion in funding for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure directed by Congress to the plaintiff states.
U.S. District Court Judge Tana Lin said the Trump administration must restore the states’ Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Plans to their previous legal status and stop withholding previously authorized NEVI funds. She stayed the order for seven days, saying it would go into effect on July 2 if the defendants do not file an appeal.
"By gouging funds owed to Arizonans for infrastructure improvements and clean energy jobs, President Trump and his administration are increasing costs for Arizona cities and raising prices for American consumers," said Attorney General Mayes. "The ruling affirms what we already know: the President and his administration are not above the law."
Lin opened her order by quoting a 1995 episode of The Simpsons, in which “Homer must cut short a tearful goodbye with his long-lost mother after her traveling companions protest that their `electric van only has 20 minutes of juice left!’” That episode foretold the “range anxiety” many drivers of electric vehicles feel when trying to figure out where to charge their cars.
In the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Congress appropriated $5 billion for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program to fund states’ nationwide deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure to improve reliability for the public. The plaintiff states moved forward with developing plans to identify sites, solicit bids, and begin building EV charging stations.
On Jan. 20, President Trump mandated federal agencies pause disbursement of all funds appropriated under the IIJA and the Inflation Reduction Act, including NEVI program funding. Despite being mandated by Congress to fund the NEVI program, the Federal Highway Administration notified states in February the agency was unlawfully revoking previous state plan approvals and withholding NEVI program funds from the states.
On May 7, Attorney General Mayes and a coalition of attorneys general from 15 other states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration for illegally withholding NEVI funding, arguing the administration engaged in overreach and violated the Constitution, which grants the power of the purse to Congress. Attorneys general from Washington, California, and Colorado co-led the lawsuit.
Lin, of the Western District of Washington, said that even beyond the matter of EV charging stations, the case centers on the “bedrock doctrines of separation of powers and agency accountability, as enshrined in Constitution and statute.”
“When the Executive Branch treads upon the will of the Legislative Branch, and when an administrative agency acts contrary to law, it is the Court’s responsibility to remediate the situation and restore the balance of power,” she wrote.
Lin granted the preliminary injunction to the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Lin said she excluded the District of Columbia, Minnesota, and Vermont from her preliminary injunction because they did not submit declarations that attested to the Federal Highway Administration’s approval and re-approval of their state deployment plans.
A copy of Lin’s order can be found here.
