By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A group of nine senators on the Environment and Public Works Committee said on Tuesday the Trump administration is illegally withholding $3 billion in previously awarded funds to states for electric vehicle charging.
On Thursday, the U.S. Transportation Department said it was suspending the electric vehicle charging program and rescinding approval of state EV charging plans pending a new review.
The Democratic senators on the committee led by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse said the action was in “blatant disregard of the law.” Whitehouse asked for any emails that would show if President Donald Trump’s advisor and Tesla CEO Elon Musk was involved in the decision.
A spokesperson for Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy did not immediately comment. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Friday, a group representing automakers and electric vehicle charging companies called on USDOT to quickly restore funding, calling on action “to quickly resume the critical work of the program and minimize uncertainty for states and their businesses.”
On Trump’s first day in office, he took aim at electric vehicles, saying he was halting distribution of unspent government funds for vehicle charging stations from the
$5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund.
Trump also revoked a 2021 executive order signed by former President Joe Biden that sought to ensure half of all new
vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2030 were electric. Trump also
called for ending a waiver for states to adopt zero-emission
vehicle rules by 2035 and said his administration would consider
ending EV tax credits.
Biden’s 50% target, which was not legally binding, had won the support of U.S. and foreign automakers.
Trump has said he could take other actions on EVs,
including seeking to repeal the $7,500 consumer tax credit for
electric-vehicle purchases as part of broader tax-reform
legislation.
Last month, Duffy directed U.S. regulators to rescind landmark fuel economy standards issued under Biden that aimed to
drastically reduce fuel use for cars and trucks as well as highway climate rules.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese and David Gregorio)
