EV charging build-out has stayed hot, but the Trump administration is throwing up new roadblocks

DETROIT — The build-out of electric vehicle charging in the U.S. has not stopped since President Donald Trump returned to office. But the administration and Congress are continuing to throw up new roadblocks.

Those include the administration withholding charger money to Democratic-controlled states and Congress slicing away at separate infrastructure funding across other states.

And this week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy decreed that chargers must now be fully American-made — a difficult requirement that is certain to delay them.

Here's where things stand.

EVs cool off, but fast-charging build-out has stayed hot

Even as EV adoption in the U.S. stayed just about the same last year as it did in 2024, fast-charging installations saw record-breaking growth, according to a year-end report from data firm Paren.

The industry added more than 18,000 new fast-charging ports, amounting to a 30% increase year-over-year.

Slower charging options, known as Level 1 and Level 2 charging, have also grown.

Trump attacks charging

Most recently, the Trump administration is attempting to withhold money for charging infrastructure from Democratic-controlled states, directing the Department of Transportation to cancel funds for California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota.

Representatives for the four governors' offices told The Associated Press this week they had not yet received official notice of the cancellations.

Congress, meanwhile, has rescinded more than $800 million in separate, previously appropriated charger money for several other states in its recent budget bill decisions, including Texas and Florida.

This week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that states receiving federal money for EV chargers will have to install ones made entirely with U.S. parts. While yet to be finalized, the requirement was previously for 55% of the parts to be American.

''Now we're ensuring that if Congress wants to see these chargers built, we put America First,'' Duffy said in a statement. ''Doing so will unleash American manufacturing, protect our national security, and prevent taxpayer dollars from subsidizing our foreign adversaries.''

But experts say chargers of 100% U.S. parts could be nearly impossible with the current supply chain.

''By creating unreasonable standards and regulatory uncertainty for domestic manufacturers, such actions may cause supply chain disruptions, drive up costs, or cede market share to international competitors," said Albert Gore, executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association.

Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, ranking member of the Senate's environment committee, said: "This administration's message is clear: don't build.''

The congressional cuts and Duffy's rule hamper the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, born out of the Biden administration's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that was passed by Congress in 2021.

It gave $5 billion to states over five years in an attempt to fill gaps in the nation's public EV charging, focusing on highway corridors and in other areas in need of infrastructure. (Another $2.5 billion was allocated through what is called the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program, or CFI.)

Last February, the Trump administration directed states to stop spending the funds for EV charging.

In May, 17 of the states that received program funds sued the administration and challenged the Federal Highway Administration over the money, and a federal judge ruled they must release billions of dollars to 14 of the state recipients.

At the end of last year, 16 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia launched a second lawsuit over the withholding of $2 billion of the funding. In January, the same judge ruled that the administration must also release these funds.

Despite the administration's loss in both lawsuits, Congress' spending reallocation and Duffy's proposed rule means further bumps in the road for NEVI, McDonald said. At the worst, some experts say both could effectively kill the program.

Broader EV stance

Since his first day back in the White House, Trump has targeted several policies friendly to cleaner cars and trucks in favor of those promoting gasoline-powered vehicles.

Trump revoked the Biden administration's target for half of all new vehicle sales in the U.S. to be electric by 2030.

In its tax and spending bill signed into law by Trump last summer, Congress eliminated federal tax credits that saved buyers up to $7,500 off new and used electric vehicle purchases.

''We need to do more to make sure that the broader benefits and value proposition for transportation electrification is not just stuck in a climate debate, and really, needs to be re-centered on the future of the auto industry in the U.S. and how we're going to compete,'' said Ben Prochazka, executive director of the nonprofit Electrification Coalition.

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Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate reporter. Follow her on X: @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at ast.john@ap.org.

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