A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Department of Transportation unlawfully withheld nearly $1 billion in electric vehicle infrastructure funding from 20 states and the District of Columbia, siding with a multistate coalition including Maryland.

The states argued the funding freeze violated federal law and jeopardized efforts to build a nationwide electric vehicle charging network approved by Congress. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said restoring the funds would help Maryland meet its climate goals.

“Expanding access to charging stations gives Marylanders the confidence to drive the electric vehicles essential to meeting our climate goals,” Brown said in a statement. “Our lawsuit preserved this critical funding that helps protect our environment for our children and grandchildren.”

The DOT countered that it acted within its authority to realign the program with Trump administration priorities. In a statement to The Baltimore Sun, the agency said Federal Highway Administration officials updated NEVI guidance to emphasize safety, efficiency and innovation, noting that 49 states have since had revised plans approved and are free to obligate funds.

“The results of President Trump and Secretary Duffy’s leadership speak for themselves,” the statement says. “In just five months since issuing revised NEVI guidance, Secretary Duffy was able to obligate 39% more NEVI funds than the Biden Administration obligated in 3 years.”

Details of the case

Congress appropriated $5 billion for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to support a nationwide EV charging network. States had begun implementing their plans when President Trump, on his first day in office, issued an executive order directing agencies to stop releasing NEVI funds. The DOT then halted the program.

Maryland and other states sued in May. In June, U.S. District Judge Tana Lin issued a preliminary injunction restoring the funding, including $34.5 million awarded to Maryland. Several environmental and advocacy groups joined the lawsuit as plaintiff-intervenors, including the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and Plug In America.

In her final ruling, Lin said the DOT and Federal Highway Administration acted arbitrarily and outside the law. She barred the agencies from suspending or revoking approved state plans or withholding NEVI funds for any reason not expressly authorized by Congress.

“Such capriciousness runs counter to the Administrative Procedure Act; it is simply not how things are lawfully done,” Lin wrote.

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