Sixteen U.S. states and the District of Columbia filed a federal lawsuit this week challenging the Biden administration’s suspension of billions of dollars in federal funding for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, alleging that the freeze violates laws and harms efforts to build EV networks nationwide. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
The legal action targets the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for halting new obligations of funds for two key grant programs created under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Grant Program and the EV Charger Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator Program. The plaintiffs say the withholding of funds undermines congressional intent and slows the buildout of EV chargers across the country.
According to the lawsuit, approximately $1.8 billion from the CFI program and around $350 million from the Accelerator program have been paused, leaving state and local charging projects in limbo and threatening progress on expanding clean transportation access. States argue that these funds were lawfully approved by Congress and that the administration’s actions exceed its legal authority.
The coalition filing the suit is led by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, and Washington, and joined by officials from Arizona, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, along with the governor of Pennsylvania. They are seeking a court order to declare the funding freeze unlawful and require the administration to resume distributing the appropriated funds.
State leaders say the halt in federal support threatens jobs, clean air goals, economic growth, and the expansion of EV charging networks — a critical component of reducing reliance on fossil fuels and meeting climate targets. California officials noted that withheld funds jeopardize planned charging infrastructure that would support electric trucks, buses, and passenger vehicles across the state.
The lawsuit follows a similar legal challenge earlier this year, in which a federal judge ordered the administration to release withheld funding under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program after a multistate lawsuit argued the pause was unlawful. Plaintiffs in the current case hope for a comparable ruling to prevent further disruption of EV infrastructure funding nationwide.
