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California and a coalition of 16 states filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Wednesday, saying it had unlawfully blocked $5bn in congressional funds allocated to build electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
The states allege that an executive order by President Donald Trump directing federal agencies to stop releasing money appropriated for EV infrastructure under former president Joe Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is unlawful.
It is the latest in a series of legal challenges by Democratic-led states against orders by the administration that they claim are illegal.
The order, which was issued on Trump’s first day in office, resulted in the Federal Highway Administration freezing more than $300mn in funding that had been allocated to California, costing jobs and dismantling a critical emerging technology industry, according to the lawsuit.
Rob Bonta, California’s attorney-general, on Wednesday accused the president of illegally stripping away billions of dollars of federal funding for EVs and working to “roll back environmental and climate change protections”.
“California will not back down, not from Big Oil, and not from federal over-reach,” he said in a statement.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, regarded as a potential Democratic presidential contender, is positioning himself as a leader in opposition to the Trump administration.
California has filed 19 lawsuits since Trump’s inauguration. Earlier this week, Newsom joined with 16 other Democratic governors in legal action against the administration aimed at blocking the federal government’s move to freeze new wind energy developments across the country.
Last month it was one of a dozen states that challenged the legality of Trump’s sweeping tariffs, claiming they are unconstitutional because Congress has not granted him the authority to raise taxes on imports.
In a statement, Newsom said Trump’s action withholding funds for EV charging was “yet another gift to China — ceding American innovation and killing thousands of jobs”.
“Instead of hawking Teslas on the White House lawn, President Trump could actually help Elon [Musk] — and the nation — by following the law and releasing this bipartisan funding,” Newsom added.
California is a leader in clean energy tech among US states and has the highest ownership of EVs in the country. More than 2mn zero emission vehicles have been sold in the state — about 34 per cent of total US sales, according to the California state government.
The US Department of Energy did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
