The Trump administration is being sued by a coalition of 16 states and the District of Columbia over claims it is withholding billions of dollars in funding approved by Congress to build electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, according to a federal lawsuit announced on April 7.

The lawsuit is led by attorneys general from California, Colorado, and Washington and was filed in the District Court for the Western District of Washington.

It centers on the $5 billion in funding allocated under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program in 2022 to facilitate electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the states.

As Katabella Roberts reports for The Epoch Times, that funding was established through the Biden administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, amid a push towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and making at least 500,000 publicly available EV chargers in the United States by the end of this decade.

Congress required the $5 billion funding to be distributed among the states over fiscal years 2022 through 2026.

So far, an estimated $3.3 billion had already been made available, according to the lawsuit.

Shortly after taking office in January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled “Unleashing American Energy,” in which he directed federal agencies to “immediately pause” all funds appropriated via the Infrastructure Law, including the funds allocated for EV charging stations made available through the NEVI program.

The order stated that America is “blessed with an abundance of energy and natural resources that have historically powered our Nation’s economic prosperity,” but that, in recent years, “burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations” have impeded the development of those resources, while also limiting the generation of reliable and affordable electricity, reducing job creation, and increasing energy costs.

Following Trump’s directive, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), an agency under the Department of Transportation (DOT), announced it was suspending the commitment of funds under the NEVI program and rescinded approval of state plans, pending a review.

The lawsuit challenges the FHWA’s authority to terminate the funding and claims its actions deprive the states of billions of dollars in appropriated funds and violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the Separation of Powers Doctrine, and the Take Care Clause, among others.

“This infrastructure is critical to the success of plaintiff states’ environmental, public health, and transportation programs—projects Congress actively chose to support in enacting the [Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act] and establishing the NEVI Formula Program. The harms to plaintiff states will continue and become increasingly damaging if unabated,” the states wrote in the suit.

The lawsuit asks the court to declare Trump’s directives unlawful, to vacate the administration’s actions, and permanently stop it from withholding the funds.

Department of Transportation and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Federal Highway Administration Administrator Gloria Shepherd are listed as defendants.

In a statement announcing the suit, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta said the administration’s decision “will devastate the ability of states to build the charging infrastructure necessary for making EVs accessible to more consumers, combating climate change, reducing other harmful pollution, and supporting the states’ green economies.”

“President Trump’s illegal action withholding funds for electric vehicle infrastructure is yet another Trump gift to China—ceding American innovation and killing thousands of jobs,” they said.

“Instead of hawking Teslas on the White House lawn, President Trump could actually help Elon - and the nation - by following the law and releasing this bipartisan funding.”

The attorneys general of Arizona, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Vermont joined the lawsuit.

The Epoch Times has contacted the Department of Transportation and Tesla for comment.