Trump Halts EV Charging Funds, Putting NEVI Program at Risk
The Trump administration has halted the EV infrastructure funding or NEVI program that was established as a bipartisan act of Congress. NEVI (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) funding was created to spur the building of public charging stations along high-use transit corridors. The NEVI program, also known as the Charge Ahead Program, was established through the 2022 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (NPR).
The NEVI program manager weighed in:
McDonald said several hundred of the awarded sites are currently under construction and expected to open this year. He does not believe he has the authority to pause or rescind any aspect of the NEVI program.
"The Trump administration is clearly trying to stop or pause programs like NEVI for as long as they can, but I assume lawsuits from states will start soon, and this will go to court and Congress," McDonald said in a statement (Business Insider).
In fact, Congress's power to override the President's veto forms a “balance” between the branches on the lawmaking power. The veto power does not give the President the power to amend or alter the content of legislation—the President only has the ability to accept or reject an entire act passed by Congress. To repeal any element of an enacted law, Congress must pass a new law containing repeal language and the codified statute's location in the U.S. Code.
Any first-year law student could tell you this. The problem is that Congress and the agencies that handle funding are rolling over to unlawful mandates made by the current President.
Katherine García, director of the Sierra Club's Clean Transportation for All campaign, similarly declared Friday:
"Freezing these EV charging funds is yet another one of the Trump administration's unsound and illegal moves. This is an attack on bipartisan funding that Congress approved years ago and is driving investment and innovation in every state, with Texas as the largest beneficiary."
"Throwing out states' plans, which were carefully built together with business, utilities, and communities, only hurts America's growing clean energy economy," she stressed. "The NEVI program has helped the U.S. build out the infrastructure needed to support our nation's necessary transition to pollution-free vehicles. More electric vehicle charging means better public health, reduced climate emissions, good-paying green jobs, and healthier communities." .
The order to halt funding did not come as a complete surprise. During his campaign, President Trump repeatedly promised to cut EV requirements and incentives—often describing the Biden administration's clean energy policies as an EV "mandate," though no such federal policy requires all vehicles to be electric (NPR).
As a kicker, Elon Musk and Tesla have received $31 million in funding from the NEVI program, more so than any other individual group or company.
In terms of stations already in development, here are some key locations where charging infrastructure was expected to roll out before the freeze:
Texas: Multiple charging corridors along I-35 and I-10
California: Expansion along major highways including I-5 and Route 99
New York: Stations planned along the New York Thruway
Florida: High-use corridors such as I-95 and I-75
Illinois: Charging hubs in Chicago and surrounding suburbs
With these locations now in limbo, many EV owners and clean energy advocates are left wondering how this decision will impact the nation's growing transition to electric transportation.