Attorney General Clark Sues Trump Administration Over Illegal Attempt to Stop Funding for EV Charging Infrastructure

Attorney General Charity Clark today joined a coalition of 17 states in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration for unlawfully suspending two bipartisan grant programs for electric vehicle charging infrastructure that would reduce pollution, expand access to clean vehicles, and create thousands of green jobs. Without any explanation or notice, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has quietly refused to approve any new funding under two electric vehicle charging infrastructure programs created in the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA): the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Program (CFI) and the Electric Vehicle Charger Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator (Accelerator) Program (together, the EV Charging Infrastructure Programs). In the lawsuit, the coalition alleges that these unexplained and secretive actions violate the constitutional separation of powers, as the funding was approved by bipartisan majorities in Congress.

"Time and time again, we have seen the Trump Administration defy Congress in violation of the Constitution, and here we are yet again," said Attorney General Clark. "Congress created these programs through bipartisan consensus, and they will benefit our economy, our transportation infrastructure, and our environment, not to mention improve affordability for consumers."

In 2022, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Like the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, the CFI and Accelerator programs are five-year programs created by IIJA for building or repairing EV chargers. USDOT and the Federal Highway Administration have refused all new obligations of funds under both programs since the spring of 2025.

Vermont had been previously approved for a $5 million award from the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Program to support the development of 200 new EV charging ports in Burlington.

"Burlington Electric's CFI EV charging grant, combined with local matching funds, was intended to increase current EV charging in the community approximately six-fold over the next six years, and to ensure broad access to EV charging, including direct current fast chargers," said Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak. "The grant was competitively awarded and is important for tourism, for economic and community vitality, and for our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We appreciate the Attorney General and her team's work to join this litigation with other impacted grantees across the country to ensure we can deploy these funds for more EV chargers as Congress intended."

The complaint filed today alleges that the Trump Administration's refusal to spend the funds that Congress appropriated for EV infrastructure is unlawful because it violates the separation of powers and violates the Administrative Procedure Act. The programs were created by statute, and federal agencies have a duty to faithfully execute those statutes. The complaint asks the court to declare that the defendants' actions are unlawful and to permanently stop the administration from withholding these funds.

Attorney General Clark joins the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as the governor of Pennsylvania, in filing this lawsuit.

A copy of the complaintis available on our website.

Today's lawsuit is the 38th case Attorney General Clark has brought against the Trump Administration since President Trump took office in January. For more information on actions taken by the Attorney General on behalf of Vermonters, visit our website at https://ago.vermont.gov/ago-actions.

CONTACT: Amelia Vath, Senior Advisor to the Attorney General, 802-828-3171