Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 17 attorneys general, today filed a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from illegally terminating billions in congressionally approved funding for electric vehicle infrastructure.
In response to a presidential executive order, the Federal Highway Administration is withholding $117 million that it previously made available to Illinois for the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, hindering Illinois from achieving its goal of having 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030.
“Once again, the Trump administration is attempting to usurp the power of the purse granted to Congress in our Constitution,” Raoul said. “Our transition to a clean energy future includes investing in electric vehicle infrastructure, which was rightfully acknowledged by Congress. I will continue to stand with my fellow attorneys general to fight back against the president’s illegal actions that harm our residents.”
In 2022, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. One provision of the IIJA appropriated $5 billion for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (NEVI) to facilitate electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the nation.
On Jan. 20, President Trump signed an executive order that mandated all federal agencies to pause the disbursement of funds related to the IIJA and the Inflation Reduction Act, including NEVI funding. Despite being tasked by Congress to fund NEVI, the Federal Highway Administration notified states in early February that the agency was revoking all previously approved plans to implement NEVI, a requirement for funding under IIJA.
Raoul and the coalition’s lawsuit seeks a court order against the Federal Highway Administration’s unlawful actions and a restoration of the electric vehicle infrastructure funding to the states.
Joining Raoul in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin and Vermont.
