President Donald Trump ordered the the Federal Highway Administration to suspend a $5 billion is spending for electric vehicle charging infrastructure program on Thursday, implementing one of Trump’s first executive orders since returning to office.
Emily Biondi, associate administrator for the Office of Planning, Environment and Realty, notified state transportation directors that all Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment plans are immediately suspended.
“The new leadership of the Department of Transportation has decided to review the policies underlying the implementation of the NEVI Formula Program,” Biondi wrote in a February 6 letter. “Accordingly, the current NEVI Formula Program Guidance dated June 11, 2024, and all prior versions of this guidance are rescinded.”
The program, established under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed by former President Joe Biden in 2021, who spent billions to install over 500,000 charging stations nationwide by 2030.
Nearly four years later, analytics firm Paren reports only 55 out of the 500,000 stations have been built as of February 2025.
“Today, we will end the Green New Deal, and we will revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry and keeping my sacred pledge to our great American autoworkers,” Trump said on Inauguration Day, right before he signed the executive order.
The directive targets what the administration calls “ill-conceived government-imposed market distortions” favoring electric vehicles, including charging infrastructure funding through both the NEVI program and Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grants.
Special interest groups challenged Trump and his order’s authority to cut federal spending.
“States are under no obligation to stop these projects based solely on this announcement,” said Ryan Gallentine, managing director at Advanced Energy United. “We call on state DOTs and program administrators to continue executing this program until new guidance is finalized.”
While new projects are suspended, Biondi’s letter assured states they “will be held harmless for not implementing their existing plans” and current financial commitments will be reimbursed.
The Infrastructure law had allocated an additional $2.5 billion for charging stations in communities and neighborhoods beyond the interstate system. The status of those funds remains unclear under the new directive.