Washington AG sues after Trump administration freezes $71 million program for EV charging stations in Eastern Washington

Washington is leading a multi-state lawsuit against the Trump administration for terminating billions in funding for electric vehicle infrastructure, which stifled plans to expand the technology in Eastern Washington.

The program, included in the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, would distribute $5 billion to states to install electric vehicle charging stations and “establish an interconnected network to facilitate data collection, access, and reliability,” according to the Federal Highway Administration.

The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program was set to award $71 million in grant funding to install electric vehicle charging stations along priority “alternative fuel corridors” throughout Eastern Washington.

According to the lawsuit, President Donald Trump froze all funding included in the Inflation Reduction Act, including the funds for electric vehicle infrastructure, on his first day in office.

“The president’s illegal claw-backs aren’t spending reductions – they’re cash grabs that rob taxpayers, steamroll Congress, and stifle critical economic development,” Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said in a statement. “Washingtonians are switching to electric vehicles at one of the highest rates in the nation. They deserve safe, reliable infrastructure to get their families from Point A to B.”

In a Jan. 20 executive order, Trump wrote that “In recent years, burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations have impeded the development of these resources, limited the generation of reliable and affordable electricity, reduced job creation, and inflicted high energy costs upon our citizens.

“These high energy costs devastate American consumers by driving up the cost of transportation, heating, utilities, farming, and manufacturing, while weakening our national security,” the executive order states.

Eliminating subsidies and other funding for electric vehicles, the executive order states, “is essential for economic growth and innovation.”

In February, Emily Biondi, associate administrator of the Office of Planning, Environment and Realty at the Federal Highway Administration, notified the heads of state transportation departments that new leadership at the agency has “decided to review the policies underlying the implementation” of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program.

“Effective immediately, no new obligations may occur under the NEVI Formula Program until the updated final NEVI Formula Program Guidance is issued and new State plans are submitted and approved,” Biondi wrote.

According to the request for proposal for the program, the Washington State Department of Transportation previously identified five priority “Alternative Fuel Corridors” in the state, most of which would have filled gaps in charging stations for motorists driving to or through the Spokane area, and planned to install between 14 and 19 fueling stations along the corridors throughout the state.

Department of Transportation has identified U.S. Highway 195 from Spokane to the Idaho border, U.S. Highway 395 from Spokane to the Canadian border, U.S. Highway 2 from Leavenworth to Newport and Interstate 90 from Seattle to the Idaho border as priority alternative fuel corridors in the program. Grants would have covered up to 80% of the project costs, with applicants required to cover at least 20%.

“WSDOT is tracking existing and planned stations that meet port, power, and distance requirements to ensure deploying NEVI infrastructure meets the most critical gaps on our Interstates and US Routes,” the request for proposal states.

While Washington received 40 applications for the program by a January deadline, the complaint states that “because Washington does not have funds to cover these projects in the absence of its share of the NEVI Formula Program funding, the State has not been able to select a single awardee.”

A coalition of 16 other states has joined the lawsuit, which seeks a court order to restore the funding.