Maryland joins suit against Trump administration on electric vehicles

Yahoo

08-05-2025

An electric vehicle charger owned by Baltimore Gas & Electric in Annapolis. (Photo by Christine Condon/ Maryland Matters)
Maryland joined 15 other states in a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to overturn President Donald Trump's executive order blocking billions in congressionally approved funding for electric vehicle charging stations and other infrastructure.
It was the third suit the state has joined this week, part of an aggressive strategy by Democrat-led states targeting Trump actions.
The states also won a preliminary injunction against Trump initiatives this week in an another suit, when a federal judge in Rhode Island blocked Trump's order severely curtailing operations at federal agencies that oversee mediation services, minority business development, and museum and library services.
The EV-infrastructure suit, filed in U.S. District Court for Washington state, challenges the U.S. Department of Transportation for illegally withholding about $3 billion in previously approved funding to build electric vehicle infrastructure. The suit says Maryland stands to lose $49 million from the five-year funding program approved under former President Joe Biden (D).
'Charging stations and ports are critical to helping more families transition to cleaner vehicles that reduce pollution and support our environmental goals,' Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said in a statement. 'By unlawfully withholding $49 million in approved funding, the Trump Administration is undermining efforts to expand our state's charging network, reduce emissions, and build a healthier future for generations to come.'
The suit challenges Trump's 'Unleashing American Energy' executive order, signed on his first day in office, which sought to 'eliminate the electric vehicle mandate.'
Maryland, other states, take more legal actions against Trump administration
But Wednesday's suit says there was never any such mandate, and that by trying to eliminate 'this fictional mandate, the Executive Order directs the Federal Highway Administration to usurp the legislative and spending powers reserved to Congress by withholding congressionally appropriated funding for electric vehicle ('EV') charging infrastructure required by statute to be distributed to States.'
In February, the U.S. Department of Transportation did just that, suspending the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program and directing states to stop spending money on electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The states' suit says Congress approved a total of $5 billion for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program when it approved the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021.
'The Maryland Department of Transportation values the U.S. Department of Transportation's intent to modernize and update NEVI program guidance as soon as possible,Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld said in a statement. 'However, the action taken to indefinitely pause the NEVI program is harming current and future EV drivers in Maryland.'
Besides Maryland, the suit includes the District of Columbia and 15 other states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin and Vermont.
Maryland and 20 other states, meanwhile, won a temporary injunction Tuesday in another suit against a Trump order that would have critics said dismantle federal agencies that provide federal money to libraries and museums, promote labor peace and assist minority-owned businesses.
The Rhode Island Current, which is part of the States Newsroom network, reported Tuesday that the preliminary injunction handed down in U.S. District Court for Rhode Island blocks the order affecting the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Minority Business Development Agency, and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
Trump on March 14 had ordered those agencies to 'reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel.'The order violates the federal Administrative Procedures Act 'in the arbitrary and capricious way it was carried out,' wrote District Judge John J. McConnell.
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'It also disregards the fundamental constitutional role of each of the branches of our federal government; specifically, it ignores the unshakable principles that Congress makes the law and appropriates funds, and the Executive implements the law Congress enacted and spends the funds Congress appropriated,' McConnell wrote.
The states' lawsuit was filed April 4 against Trump, Keith E. Sonderling, the acting director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and other federal agencies and officials.
'This ruling safeguards essential lifelines for aspiring entrepreneurs, workers demanding fair treatment, and Maryland families who rely on their local libraries for internet access and childhood literacy support,' Brown said in a statement. 'By defending these vital federal programs, we've ensured they continue delivering critical services to the Marylanders who depend on them every day.'
Brown on Monday, Brown joined two lawsuits against the federal government: one to challenge the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for cut staffing and close agencies, and another that ordered federal agencies to pause approvals, permits and loans for all wind energy projects both onshore and offshore. Maryland also signed on to a motion seeking a preliminary injunction in another suit against Trump's March 25 executive order that would impose sweeping voting restrictions nationwide.