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United States Government Power Transportation

White House Moves to Halt Federal Funds for EV Charging Stations (politico.com) 165

Posted by EditorDavid from the power-plays dept.
Thursday the White House "moved to halt a $5 billion initiative to build electric vehicle charging stations," reports Politico, "by instructing states not to spend federal funds previously allocated to them..." NPR described the move as "putting in limbo billions of dollars allocated to states with current and future projects..."

Politico notes the move "appears to upend years of precedent in which federal promises of funds for highway projects had given states an all-but-guaranteed assurance that they were free to spend them. It also raises legal questions... Funding experts had told POLITICO last year that decades of legal precedent would largely insulate the charging money... Andrew Rogers [deputy administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, or FHWA, in the Biden administration] said in a text message that the new letter "appears to ignore both the law and multiple restraining orders that have been issued by federal courts." Rogers, who is now a senior vice president at Boundary Stone Partners, said the move appears to be "in direct violation" of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, a Watergate-era law that prohibits presidents from unilaterally canceling congressionally approved spending. Trump has contended that the law is unconstitutional.
Politico also got a quote from the chief analyst at analytics firm Paren, who predicts lawsuits from affected states and that the final impact of the move will be "just causing havoc and slowing things down for awhile." [A letter to state transportation directors from the Federal Highway Administration] clarifies that states will be able to receive reimbursements for "existing obligations" to design and build stations "in order to not disrupt current financial commitments." According to the letter, FHWA plans to publish new draft guidance on the NEVI program in the spring, followed by a comment period, before issuing new final guidance. Only then will states be able to resubmit their annual implementation plans for all fiscal years of the program.
"But that doesn't mean that the program is going to be sunset or the funds are not going to be made available again to the states," Nick Nigro, the founder of Atlas Public Policy consultancy told NPR: Several experts tell NPR that as a result of its overwhelming bipartisan support at the time, attempts to overturn it within the executive branch are likely to be challenged in court. Nigro believes the funding will resume eventually...

So far, 56 stations [with multiple chargers] are up and running as a result of the program, while more than 900 sites in total have been "awarded" to date, according to Loren McDonald, chief analyst at Paren, another research analytics firm. McDonald said several hundred of the awarded sites are currently under construction and expected to open this year. He does not believe the FHWA has the authority to pause or rescind any aspect of the NEVI program... "I assume lawsuits from states will start soon, and this will go to court and Congress," McDonald said in a statement.
The move has "confounded states, which had been allocated billions of dollars by Congress for the program," the New York Times reported Friday. "[S]ome state officials said that as a result of the memo from the Trump administration, they had stopped work on the charging stations. Others said they intended to keep going."

The Washington Post reports that a Texas Department of Transportation official "said it would continue to deploy federal funds for EV chargers until it receives further guidance," and that Ryan Gallentine, managing director at the national business association Advanced Energy United, said that states "are under no obligation to stop these projects based solely on this announcement." Politico adds: Also on Thursday, FHWA took down several internet pages providing information on NEVI and its sister program, the $2.5 billion Charging and Fueling Infrastructure grant program... Amid the confusion, at least six states — Alabama, Oklahoma, Missouri, Rhode Island, Ohio and Nebraska — have put their NEVI programs on hold, according to McDonald. Rhode Island and Ohio had been considered leading states in implementing the program.

White House Moves to Halt Federal Funds for EV Charging Stations More | Reply

White House Moves to Halt Federal Funds for EV Charging Stations

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  • What does Elmo say about this? Surely more charging stations would benefit Tesla drivers.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dfghjk ( 711126 )

      He's not interested in benefitting Tesla drivers. Why would you think that?

      Melonia would only favor subsidies if she can get more than anyone else. Otherwise she would oppose them. This is transparently obvious.

      It doesn't matter to the rich whether there's a bull market or a bear market, it only matters that they can control and predict it.

    • Tesla has their own charging network and (as much as I hate praising anything involved with Mr. Nazi salute) it's actually quite good. Tesla has also recently opened the network for most makes of non-Tesla EVs by means of a user-provided adapter, and a few of the stations (MagicDock locations) can automatically dispense an attached adapter.

      Ultimately, cutting off the federal funding for more chargers benefits Tesla, because their network is already quite extensive and it's mostly the competition that will

      • Yes, as much as these next few years will be politically fraught, Elon Musk is simply taking advantage of it for personal gain

        It may take a while for most Americans to realize this is not good for them

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ratbag ( 65209 )

      Probably "thanks President Useful Idiot, the brown envelope is on its way".

      He's got a charging network, and he's tried to destroy it himself by firing the whole team. So this is likely all part of Operation confuse-the-populace-to-billionaires'-benefit.

  • To be fair (Score:3)

    by jrnvk ( 4197967 ) on Saturday February 08, 2025 @12:40PM (#65151943)

    Almost none were even built

    • Re:To be fair (Score:5, Insightful)

      by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Saturday February 08, 2025 @12:56PM (#65151995)

      There's nothing "fair" about that. Infrastructure doesn't appear overnight. It takes planning and patience. 9 women can't make a baby in a month. If there were lots of charging stations built in the timeframe it would be a clear sign of a rushed job, poorly thought through.

      In 2016 Ionity was formed (not called that at the time) as a conglomerate of major car companies and infrastructure companies with a huge budget and a push to install chargers across Europe. 3 years later it had rolled out 58 chargers (just slightly more than the US program). It is now rolling out over 700 per quarter. These kinds of major projects take a long time to ramp up.

      So no, you're not "being fair" at all. You're being ignorant of how infrastructure programs are scheduled.

      • Most of the completed EV stations so far are at Pilot Truck Stops. One company benefiting greatly.

        The other ones that have yet to be completed appear to be taking longer than is necessary for various reasons (probably unnecessary bureaucracy at the state level), and risk being out-of-date by the time they come online.

        If this was a serious endeavor, there would have been hundreds of these stations in place long before the election. They knew what was coming, had years to prepare and execute, and failed miser

        • Maybe when Pilot Truck Stops were first built, they planned on (or did have at one time) large power needs, while (most) everyone else was already sized for lower power needs.

          Or maybe they had a corrupt several year-heads-up on future government subsidies and were able to then hit the ground running.

          Or they simply have larger properties than most making it much easier to "add on"

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by dgatwood ( 11270 )

          Most of the completed EV stations so far are at Pilot Truck Stops. One company benefiting greatly.

          Turns out that larger convenience stores close to a freeway are fairly ideal locations for EV charging, because they have restrooms and food available. Add Wi-Fi and/or a couple of better restaurants within a block, and you have yourself the trifecta.

          The fact that one company has a substantial percentage of those locations does make it awkward, but that's not the fault of the governments for choosing the best locations. That's the fault of the government for not limiting the size of that truck stop empire

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by shilly ( 142940 )

        While I agree with what you say, I do think that it was bizarre that the Biden administration gave no thought to the problem of the lengthy political payback period. Not just with chargers, either -- true for their approach to inflation management as well. It's like they've never heard of the concept of quick wins, or considered the importance of momentum and showing progress, or asked "what if our political opponents don't play nicely?"

        Maybe this truly was the only way to get the infra built. But... I kind

  • Put aside EV charging stations for a moment. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Saturday February 08, 2025 @12:43PM (#65151953)

    Have a think about what is going on here. Imagine living in a country and being a company, engineering firm, supplier, infrastructure maintainer, etc, where a new government can come in and say don't spend funds "previously allocated".

    How can you run you business? How can you trust any government contract? How can any government level plan to build any infrastructure which may take more than 4 years.

    Forget about whether you think EV charging stations are good or bad, forget about whether you think the governments were doing a good job of the projects or not. This move is toxic as fuck. How is America made great again again by telling people "you can't trust us to invest here".

    • Re: (Score:2, Flamebait)

      by dfghjk ( 711126 )

      Toxic as fuck has been the platform of the Republican Party for decades. Two Santas is their most effective strategy, there is nothing more toxic than Two Santas.

    • While I agree with your premise this isn't new. We have become increasingly unstable since 2016 and it doesn't appear to be changing any time soon.

      With that said, a lot of businesses that solely rely on government contracts amount to parasites. The first few industries that come to mind are the Military Industrial complex and the Education Industrial complex. Both suck the tax payers dry and in the case of higher ed, also fuck everyone with incredible debt.

      Heck, we should NEVER of passed out EV credits. Tha

      • Examining every line item in the entire federal budget and the breakdown of that spending beyond the line item is what is happening.

        The questions from this:

        - What extent can the executive branch control federal spending?
        - What extent can the executive branch stop, delay, study, reallocate, prioritize, etc. individual federal spending items?
        - What extent can the executive branch change government organizations, employee counts, list of jobs, etc. beyond what is specifically listed in a verbatim reading of a

    • Get the project done on time then. Seriously we are so sick of this shit.

      • Get the project done on time then. Seriously we are so sick of this shit.

        It is being done on time. Infrastructure takes time. Are you the kind of person who thinks that 9 women can bring a baby to term in a month? The EU was down this road too with Ionity. 3 years after that consortium got together they had 58 chargers installed. Now they are installing over 700 each quarter.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by shilly ( 142940 )

          Also worth noting that the US is the most expensive place to build infra in the world, and that's partly because it takes so long. The UK is the second worst, and I'm hoping that the government really will do what it says and tackle some of the drivers of the delays. But while I'm hoping, I'm not hopeful.

    • Re:Put aside EV charging stations for a moment. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by sdinfoserv ( 1793266 ) on Saturday February 08, 2025 @01:38PM (#65152115)
      The constitution grants the power over funding to congress. Trump can not legally override an act of congress (aka Law), including a ratified budget, with an executive action. That's where the courts come in and why so many of Trumps actions are being swatted down by the courts. In the bigger picture, this is how oligarchs behave. They have no concern about laws they just do whatever they want. Sometimes they get stopped, sometimes not, and sometimes they pay fines - which makes them really, really angry. That's why oligarchs like Trump and Musk are targeting enforcement branches of the government. The Dems need to get much faster and more aggressive on the law suit button if they have any hope of curtailing Trump.

    • Forget about whether you think this is good for business, how can the government itself function if the president can just decide to dismantle programs without congress repealing them.

    • This literally happened under Biden with the border wall. In fact, they went so far as to destroy what was already built.

      I absolutely agree with the premise that if appropriated, funds need to be used for that purpose. But this specific program does not seem like it ever was going to be a serious thing.

    • The solution to this is to build the damn things in a timely manner, slow moving so that everyone with their hand out gets some of that taxpayer money is the real problem here.

      I get it, planning takes time - but nothing should take more than three months to initiate construction. We live in the internet age, all the bureaucracy and middlemen with their hands out should no longer be a thing. All the layers of crap that sucks money from the actual project are one of the reasons manufacturing moved outside

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by sinij ( 911942 )

      Forget about whether you think EV charging stations are good or bad, forget about whether you think the governments were doing a good job of the projects or not.

      Wait a second, why would we forget all that? How many EV charging stations were built so far and at what cost per unit? The entire point here is that EV charging stations are not getting built. Government contract/program/subsidy isn't free money, businesses suppose to deliver goods and services in exchange for money.

  • Americans... WTF? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Baron_Yam ( 643147 ) on Saturday February 08, 2025 @12:45PM (#65151959)

    Your POTUS, in addition to being corrupt, appears bent on doing a lot of things just to be contrary. Pro plastic straw. Anti 'windmill'. Anti EV.

    Then there's the 'declare economic war on the entire world and tell some allies they better surrender their sovereignty or you'll crush them militarily if you can't economically'.

    If that's not enough (and it should be more than enough if any of you have any sanity left), there's the revenge tour he's on to destroy people who were doing their jobs and attempting to enforce the law.

    The US population needs to be on national strike over this shit, and run Trump and the Republicans out of office. If you try to ride it out and hope it goes away in four years, you're going to be at the point where you're going to need an armed and violent resistance movement.

    • Re:Americans... WTF? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by karmawarrior ( 311177 ) on Saturday February 08, 2025 @12:52PM (#65151983) Journal

      We've had about 40 years of culture war bullshit, which was ramped up to 11 when "Gamergate", the prototype for what became the modern "Alt right" and ultimately MAGA, was tested and found successful. Unfortunately no matter how batshit insane things go, coupling the culture war with the likely massive increase in voter suppression tactics, MAGA is probably the future for the US for the next decade.

      It does astonish me there are people who look at the Italian and German regimes of the 1930s and think to themselves "Boy, those turned out well! Let's do that!"

    • Exec. branch can't cancel Congress's laws (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Tablizer ( 95088 ) on Saturday February 08, 2025 @12:59PM (#65152007) Journal

      Trump made losers feel they lost because of outsiders and DEI, and NOT because they are losers. A man who thrives off of an inflated ego knows how to inflate the egos of losers, getting their vote.

      As far as EV chargers, if it's in a law passed by Congress, then likely the courts will force the Executive branch to continue, although I imagine Don will still find a way to delay or sabotage it with chaos, his weapon of choice.

  • This is shocking and will make many blow a fuse. It's surprising to see the government conduct itself in this way. I wonder whether this current issue will amp-up and electrify the voters 4 years from now. And will the states try to charge-back the federal government for what was already spent? Has "Wired" covered this?

  • Trump intentionally breaches constitution (Score:5, Insightful)

    by larryjoe ( 135075 ) on Saturday February 08, 2025 @12:59PM (#65152005)

    Trump is intentionally breaching the Constitution, with the realization that he may have the votes on the Supreme Court to reframe the Constitution to his liking.

    The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 explicitly prohibits exactly what he wants to do, and the Supreme Court has already ruled that the law is constitutional. That is, it's established law that Trump is acting illegally. However, Trump knows that stare decisis is dead. What previous Supreme Courts have ruled don't matter when the current activist right-wing court has a say.

    Another way of looking at impoundment is that it essentially grants the president line item veto power over appropriations, and the Supreme Court has already ruled that the line item veto is unconstitutional. Of course, the current Supreme Court has unchecked power and can make up whatever idea it wants.

    • The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 explicitly prohibits exactly what he wants to do, and the Supreme Court has already ruled that the law is constitutional.That is, it's established law that Trump is acting illegally.

      Yes, but your supreme court also ruled that the president can't be prosecuted for breaking the law so why would he care? It's no use having laws if the person with all the power is allowed to break them with impunity. Indeed, English common law started with the idea of limiting the power of an absolute monarch with laws and by putting your president above the law you have recreated one. Welcome to the reign of King Trump I.

  • And all that comes out of Congress, the Federal Bureaucracy, NPR, PBS and their taxpayer funded NGO activist say is, Oh My God!
    Government spending is a state secret! There is nothing that can be cut! Millions will die if a single penny of spending is even paused for review!

  • They do know Americans get jobs installing those, right? And building electric cars? And selling them?

    They're seriously just taking away American jobs? For no reason? Are they fucking idiots?

  • We cannot allow the untested position Musk has been handed!

  • the final impact of the move will be "just causing havoc and slowing things down for awhile."

    Many of the administration's recent activities have the goal of "causing havoc and slowing things down for awhile". The more havoc and the slower the wheels of government turn, the more actions they can take without anyone stopping them. Many executive actions will be halted. Many will be reversed. But there is no way to prevent the harm. You cannot un-break the eggs.

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