Colorado sues Trump administration to free funds for electric vehicle charging

Colorado has joined other states to sue the Trump administration for not releasing billions of dollars that Congress approved to build charging stations for electric vehicles Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser commented in a message that the state stands to lose tens of millions of dollars to build out the infrastructure needed to get more electric vehicles on the road The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington state Colorado has already made important progress in advancing the foundation for infrastructure needed for widespread electric wagon adoption Weiser reported and the state s federally approved plans were designed to fill gaps in rural Colorado and other underserved communities On the first day of his second term President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled Unleashing American Capacity that included eliminating the electric van mandate The order stated the goal is to ensure a level regulatory playing field for consumer choice in vehicles A bipartisan majority of Congress authorized funding for electric van infrastructure and President Trump and the Department of Transportation are urgent the law by revoking it Weiser disclosed The Infrastructure Outlay and Jobs Act passed by Congress in appropriated billion for the National Electric Conveyance Infrastructure Formula Operation or NEVI to facilitate electric carriage charging infrastructure in the states In February the Trump administration directed states to stop spending the NEVI money that former President Joe Biden championed Related Articles Tesla registrations in Colorado drop nearly over discontent with Elon Musk Colorado to ask EPA to further downgrade northern Front Range s air quality Letters Don t come after Tesla cars owners or staff The Biden administration declared a goal of seeing that electric vehicles made up half of the new cars sold in Weiser stated state agencies developed plans to spend million with million approved by the Federal Highway Administration for fiscal to While Colorado has awarded million with contractual guarantees of million Weiser reported the federal executive has distributed only million That leaves the state and its contractors in an uncertain position he added The state s goal is to have more than million electric cars and SUVs on Colorado roads by The state has approved programs and incentives for people to buy electric vehicles and install chargers There are more than charging stations across the state and nearly electric vehicles registered in Colorado The Associated Press contributed to this statement