(Bloomberg) — The Trump administration is suspending federal funding for electric car chargers, following through on one of President Donald Trump’s first directives to roll back US subsidies for plug-in vehicles after he retook the White House.
The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration announced in a letter dated Feb. 6 and posted online Friday that it is suspending approval of funds intended to be distributed to states from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, which provides funding to add chargers mostly along the interstate highway system.
No new obligations will occur under the program, but reimbursements for existing commitments will continue to avoid disruption, the Transportation Department said in a statement.
“We are utilizing the unique authority afforded under the NEVI Formula Program to ensure the Program operates efficiently and effectively and aligns with current US DOT policies and priorities,” the department said.
The move targets a key source of funds to build the network of chargers that automakers have said is critical to boosting consumer adoption of battery-powered cars. The Electric Drive Transportation Association, which lobbies for electric-car and battery manufacturers, said states and businesses have already made investments under the program, and called on the Trump administration to reverse the decision.
“The NEVI program, created in bipartisan legislation, is an effective and important element of a truly strategic energy policy that promotes US innovation, domestic investment and energy security,” Genevieve Cullen, the group’s president, said in a statement.
The NEVI program was included in the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law that was passed by Congress under former President Joe Biden. It allocated $5 billion over five years to install chargers in every state in an effort to jump-start acceptance of the plug-in cars.
Trump has made rescinding Biden’s pro-EV initiatives a key plank of his economic platform. In his address at the Republican National Convention in July, he promised to “end the electric vehicle mandate from day one” of his second administration.
Since Trump’s inauguration, the DOT has also moved to rewrite stringent US fuel-economy rules approved under Biden.
Ryan Gallentine, managing director at Advanced Energy United, which represents EV manufacturers, said in an emailed statement the charger halt “creates great uncertainty for the billions of dollars states and private companies are investing in the urgently needed infrastructure to support America’s highway transportation network.”
Elon Musk, who heads Trump’s government efficiency team, is also chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., which has the largest EV charger network in the US.
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