Calling the measure “another Trump gift to China”, California and 16 other states have filed a lawsuit against the government for unlawfully withholding $5 billion in funding that Congress designated for EV charging.
Several nonprofit organisations, including Sierra Club, Earthjustice, NRDC, Southern Environmental Law Centre, and Plug In America, joined the complaint today after the original action was filed on May 7th, the date this piece was first written. Additionally, the Government Accountability Office ruled today that the money seizure was unlawful.
President Joe Biden advocated for and signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), often known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which created the federal NEVI (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) program.
To enable more Americans to own EVs and take advantage of the fuel and health benefits that EV owners and areas with high EV penetration experience, the IIJA allocated $5 billion in funds for the expansion of EV chargers, among other things.
Since then, each state has submitted a plan, and the funds have been allocated to projects in different stages of completion across the nation, with a number of charging stations already operational.
Due to the law’s stipulation that federal subsidies only go to charging stations that have open access to numerous vehicle brands, the NEVI program was even the primary force behind Tesla unlocking its charging port and developing the NACS standard. After this regulation was passed, Tesla began allowing other brands to use its superchargers, which were previously exclusively available to Teslas.
Additionally, many of the issues with EV charging should be resolved if the industry adopts the NACS standard widely.
Thus, NEVI is an excellent program that is lowering fuel and maintenance expenses for Americans, lowering obstacles to charging, and improving air quality for all people.
Even while there is a clear constitutional solution to this situation, it is obviously opposed by the adversary of America who is currently in the White House.
Even though Congress had already allotted funds for the NEVI program, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) halted the funds in February at the urging of convicted felon Donald Trump. A felon breaking the law—who knew?
As 17 states, led by California, Colorado, and Washington, are suing the FHWA to release the monies that were allotted to them, states are now fighting back against the unlawful funding freeze. The following states have joined the lawsuit: the District of Columbia, Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Vermont.
In a news release issued by the California Governor’s Office, Attorney General Rob Bonta and California Governor Gavin Newsom outlined their positions.
One of those arguments—which we have discussed numerous times—is that Republican attempts to undermine the US EV industry are a “gift to China“, who have genuinely taken the lead in the global EV market, and other nations, especially the US, are simply not keeping up.
“When America retreats, China wins.”
President Trump’s illegal action withholding funds for electric vehicle infrastructure is yet another Trump gift to China – ceding American innovation and killing thousands of jobs.
Instead of hawking Teslas on the White House lawn, President Trump could actually help Elon – and the nation – by following the law and releasing this bipartisan funding.
-California Governor “Gavin Newsom”
The “Inflation Reduction Act”, another of President Biden’s measures, attempted to boost US investment in the EV sector while also reducing the deficit. It was a huge success, generating hundreds of thousands of jobs in the American EV manufacturing industry and hundreds of billions of dollars in investment. unquestionably far more successful than the foolish tariffs that Mr. Trump and President Biden have backed.
But Mr. Trump has also opposed that statute, as one might anticipate from an opponent of the United States. His Republican party now believes they have the votes to raise the price of EVs by $7,500, on top of the inflation Mr. Trump has already caused on both electric and non-electric models. This comes after he pleaded with the oil industry for a billion-dollar bribe to harm EVs during his presidential campaign, where he also repeatedly pledged to raise inflation for Americans.
Strangely, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, arguably America’s most well-known auto CEO, gave hundreds of millions of dollars to this anti-EV candidate despite Mr Trump’s blatant opposition to the welfare of Americans, and especially the welfare of the American auto sector. His argument that boosting his product prices by $7,500 in comparison to his competitors won’t harm his firm is based on convoluted logic, but it is just incorrect.
“This issue appears to be perplexing,” as Governor Newsom notes in his aforementioned comment. Although Mr. Trump did unlawfully use public land to produce an odd commercial for his biggest political backer, Musk says he “loves” his policy initiatives, which have so far mostly been aimed at hurting Tesla and other electric vehicles. The NEVI program’s funding might significantly close the gaps in the nationwide installation of EV chargers, increasing the usability of Teslas for Americans who don’t reside in places with readily available chargers.
In addition to throwing charger plans into disarray—something Musk is accustomed to—halting that funding also prevents Tesla from using funds for which it developed a whole charging standard in order to obtain a share. Additionally, this is not the only instance in which the White House squatter has made EV charging more difficult. In the past, he destroyed 8,000 paid EV chargers, resulting in waste and increased fuel expenses for government vehicles out of his seemingly unending resentment for the nation, which he is currently unlawfully destroying.
The lawsuit asks a judge to permanently block the FHWA from withholding these monies and to stop Mr. Trump’s unlawful acts.