Attorney General Mayes Sues Federal Government for $15 Million in EV Charging Infrastructure
PHOENIX – Attorney General Mayes today joined a coalition of 16 attorneys general and one governor in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration for unlawfully suspending two bipartisan grant programs for electric vehicle (EV) charging, jeopardizing $15 million the Phoenix intended to use to increase public access to EV charging infrastructure in strategic locations throughout the city.
"I've already protected more than $1.5 billion for Arizona by filing these lawsuits and forcing the federal government to cough up the funding it lawfully owes us," said Attorney General Mayes. "The Federal Highway Administration awarded $15 million to Phoenix, and the President doesn't have the right to step in and take it away."
Other communities across Arizona – Mesa, Cochise County, the San Carlos Apache Tribal Nation, and Maricopa County – have previously benefitted from these funding opportunities and have been able to implement public EV charging programs across the State. The City of Phoenix, however, was selected for a CFI grant in January 2025 and still has not received the $15 million they were awarded
In 2024, the Arizona Governor’s Office of Resiliency Clean Arizona Plan identified the CFI program as one important means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Arizona. The funding that the federal government has unlawfully suspended would have supported the installation of nearly 150 publicly accessible EV charging ports across Phoenix, the State’s most populous urban center and home to approximately 47% of the State’s EVs. The project also included 10 portable solar-powered charging stations and solar-covered parking structures at city-owned multi-family housing sites.
Without any explanation or notice, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has quietly refused to approve any new funding under two electric vehicle charging infrastructure programs created in the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA): Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Program (CFI) and the Electric Vehicle Charger Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator (Accelerator) Program (together, the EV Charging Infrastructure Programs).
In the lawsuit, Arizona and the coalition allege that these unexplained and secretive actions violate the constitutional separation of powers, as the funding was approved by bipartisan majorities in Congress. In 2022, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Like the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, the CFI and Accelerator programs are five-year programs created by IIJA for building or repairing EV chargers. USDOT and the Federal Highway Administration have refused all new obligations of funds under both programs since the spring of 2025, jeopardizing both current and future funding opportunities.
The complaint filed today alleges that the Trump administration’s refusal to spend the funds that Congress appropriated for EV infrastructure is unlawful because it violates the separation of powers and violates the Administrative Procedure Act. The programs were created by statute, and federal agencies have a duty to faithfully execute those statutes. The complaint asks the court to declare that the defendants’ actions are unlawful and to permanently stop the administration from withholding these funds.
Attorney General Mayes joins the Attorneys General of California, Colorado, Washington, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the Governor of Pennsylvania in filing this lawsuit.
A copy of the lawsuit is available here.