U.S. District Judge Tana Lin has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from withholding funds awarded under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program for 14 states, including California, New York, Illinois, and Washington.
In February, the U.S. Transportation Department suspended the $5 billion NEVI Formula Program and rescinded prior approval of states’ spending plans.
In her ruling, Ling said that states were harmed by the administration’s policy shift because they had dedicated their own funds to EV infrastructure buildouts in the anticipation of further funding from the federal government.
According to ChargedEVs.com, the ruling did not apply to the District of Columbia, Minnesota, or Vermont. Each of those states also sued over the funding pull, claiming the administration’s holding of funds “will devastate the ability of states to build the charging infrastructure necessary for making EVs accessible to more consumers.”
Lin’s ruling takes effect in seven days, giving the administration time to file an appeal and ask an appellate court to block her rule from going into effect.
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