Trump administration stops illegal freeze of $5B EV charger funds after losing in court

The Trump administration has finally issued new guidance that states can use to dole out $5 billion in funding for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, after spending months withholding the money.

A coalition of states sued over the funding freeze in the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, which was one of the administration’s many attempts to stop funding appropriated by Congress at the start of Donald Trump’s second term. A judge ruled in June that those states were likely to succeed and issued an injunction against the administration’s spending freeze.

The Department of Transportation (DOT), led by former MTV personality Sean Duffy, has criticized the states for taking too long to spend the money. As of May, around 84% of the $5 billion (authorized as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) was still waiting to be obligated and only a few dozen chargers had been built.

Duffy and the DOT also claimed the funding was only halted while a “review process” was performed to ensure the NEVI program aligned with the administration’s priorities. A new press release issued Monday reveals what that entails.

Unsurprisingly, the new guidance focuses on simplifying the review process for the charging stations. This means states will no longer have to consider consumer protections, emergency evacuation plans, environmental siting, and other previously required steps before construction can begin. The DOT has also removed requirements that a certain percentage of the charging stations be built in rural, underserved, or disadvantaged communities.

The DOT further removed language from the guidance requiring that proposals for the funding “demonstrate how the implementation will promote strong labor, safety training, and installation standards.” And the DOT struck language that required applicants to provide opportunities for minority- and women-owned small businesses to become involved.