Attorney General Phil Weiser sues Trump administration for illegal attempt to suspend funding for EV charging infrastructure

Attorney General Phil Weiser sues Trump administration for illegal attempt to suspend funding for EV charging infrastructure

Dec. 16, 2025 (DENVER) - Attorney General Phil Weiser today co-led a coalition of 16 states and the District of Columbia in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration for unlawfully suspending two bipartisan grant programs for electric vehicle charging infrastructure that would reduce pollution, expand access to clean vehicles, and create thousands of jobs.

The programs include the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Program (CFI) and the Electric Vehicle Charger Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator (Accelerator) Program. Without any explanation or notice, the U.S. Department of Transportation has quietly refused to approve any new funding under these electric vehicle charging infrastructure programs mandated by the 2022 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

"The USDOT appears to have implemented a de facto freeze of charging and fueling infrastructure funds, in violation of Congress's directive to fund this program. This is not necessarily a new tactic, and the courts have stopped similar efforts by this administration to freeze funds while conducting vague policy reviews. Demand for electric vehicles continues to grow rapidly in Colorado and I'm committed to fighting for EV owners and clean air," said Attorney General Weiser.

Like the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, the CFI and Accelerator programs are five-year programs created by the infrastructure law for building or repairing EV chargers. The transportation department and the Federal Highway Administration have refused to commit new funds under both programs since the spring of 2025.

Projects in Colorado are at risk due to the administration's failure to obligate funds. On January 11, 2024, for example, FHWA announced a CFI award to Colorado State University of $8,977,947 to build along I-25 a network of three public hydrogen fueling stations near CSU campuses located in Fort Collins, Denver, and Pueblo to improve accessibility for medium-to-heavy-duty hydrogen powered vehicle fleets, as well as for light-duty EV passenger vehicles. To date, CSU has received and used only $1,135,247 of its award. Those funds went to design and permitting. The university has not been able to access any of its funds for the construction phase and efforts to inquire about additional obligations have been unsuccessful. The City of Pueblo and Boulder County also have millions of dollars hanging in the balance for charging and fueling infrastructure.

The complaint filed today alleges that the Trump administration's unexplained and secretive refusal to spend the funds that bipartisan majorities in Congress appropriated for EV infrastructure is unlawful because it violates the separation of powers and the Administrative Procedure Act. The programs were created by statute and federal agencies have a duty to faithfully execute those statutes. The complaint asks the court to declare that the administration's actions are unlawful and to permanently stop it from withholding these funds.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and Washington Attorney General Nick Brown are leading the lawsuit. They are joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the governor of Pennsylvania.

Once filed, the complaint will be posted to https://www.coag.gov/defending-colorado/ (opens new window).

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