A federal judge ordered the Transportation Department to restore billions of dollars in electric vehicle charging funds to 14 states, saying the Trump administration “pulled the rug out from under them” when it blocked distribution of the funds.
The preliminary injunction, released Tuesday by District Judge Tana Lin in the Western District of Washington, is likely to be appealed, but it was celebrated as a win by the states that sued the administration over its handling of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) plan.
“The administration cannot dismiss programs illegally, like the bipartisan Electric Vehicle Infrastructure formula program, just so that the President’s Big Oil friends can continue basking in record-breaking profits,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said in a statement.
DOT didn’t respond to a request for comment, but Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has defended the decision to block funding for the program.
