17 states sued the Trump administration by stopping $ 3.3 billion electric vehicle infrastructure money
The AFP stated that seventeen US state President Donald Trump is taking legal action against the administration.The case announced on Wednesday, the federal government has no right to stop the states from using the funds allocated by the Congress. Funding – $ 5 billion spread in five years – was approved under the President Joe Biden as part of the 2021 bipartite infrastructure law. Out of this, about $ 3.3 billion was already made available to the states, before the Trump administration issued a instruction in February, asking them to stop using the money. The trial has been led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta with counterparts in Colorado and Washington. Bonta criticized the decision as a political move in favor of the oil industry, called it “illegal” and harmful to climate progress. Many states had already started using money, with some reimbursement for their EV charging projects. Others, such as New York, claim that large amounts are currently frozen – in the case of New York, about $ 120 million of $ 175 million. The lawsuit reflects the increasing resistance to the widespread efforts of the Trump administration to return climate policies. These include pulling out of the Paris Agreement, overturning the EV goals of Biden and supporting fossil fuel expansion. California governor Gavin Newsome called the funding freeze “illegal” and warned that it could spend thousands of jobs and pursue innovation in other countries. He urged the President to respect the bipartisan law instead of politicizing clean energy.
