Attorney General Charity Clark has joined a coalition of 17 states in a lawsuit against the Trump Administration, challenging the suspension of two federal grant programs aimed at expanding electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. The lawsuit alleges that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) halted funding for these programs without explanation or public notice.
The suspended programs—the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Program (CFI) and the Electric Vehicle Charger Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator (Accelerator)—were established under the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA). Both are designed to build or repair EV charging stations over five years, similar to the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program. According to state officials, USDOT and the Federal Highway Administration have not approved new funding obligations under these programs since spring 2025.
“Time and time again, we have seen the Trump Administration defy Congress in violation of the Constitution, and here we are yet again,” said Attorney General Clark. “Congress created these programs through bipartisan consensus, and they will benefit our economy, our transportation infrastructure, and our environment, not to mention improve affordability for consumers.”
Vermont had previously secured a $5 million award from the CFI program to support development of 200 new EV charging ports in Burlington. Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak commented on the impact: “Burlington Electric’s CFI EV charging grant, combined with local matching funds, was intended to increase current EV charging in the community approximately six-fold over the next six years, and to ensure broad access to EV charging, including direct current fast chargers. The grant was competitively awarded and is important for tourism, for economic and community vitality, and for our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We appreciate the Attorney General and her team’s work to join this litigation with other impacted grantees across the country to ensure we can deploy these funds for more EV chargers as Congress intended.”
The legal complaint asserts that refusing to allocate funds appropriated by Congress violates both constitutional separation of powers principles and requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act. The coalition is seeking a court order declaring these actions unlawful and directing federal agencies not to withhold further funding.
This case marks Attorney General Clark’s 38th lawsuit against actions taken by President Trump’s administration since January.
More information about ongoing actions from Vermont’s Attorney General can be found at https://ago.vermont.gov/ago-actions.
