N.J., Pa. to see millions restored for EV chargers in legal win over Trump administration
A federal judge ruled in favor of 20 states that filed a 2025 lawsuit seeking restoration of EV infrastructure funding.
New Jersey and Pennsylvania are poised to regain roughly $144 million in federal funding for electric‑vehicle charging stations after securing a legal victory over the Trump administration.
New Jersey announced this week that it expects $73 million to be reinstated.
Pennsylvania had planned for $71 million in EV‑charging funds last year, but a current amount could not be confirmed by Tuesday afternoon.
» READ MORE: Federal EV charging funds have been paused. So how is Pennsylvania able to keep on building?
On Friday, a U.S. District Court sided with 20 states that filed suit last year demanding restoration of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (NEVI). New Jersey and Pennsylvania were among the plaintiffs.
In her decision, Judge Tana Lin, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, prohibited the Department of Transportation from withholding funding for approved state EV‑charger deployment plans.
Lin concluded from Seattle that the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) overstepped its authority by halting funding already authorized by Congress. She described the agency’s action as arbitrary and capricious.
“This win puts New Jersey back on track for $73 million in funding unlawfully stripped away through the Trump Administration’s illegal actions,” Jennifer Davenport, New Jersey’s acting attorney general, said this week in a statement. “New Jerseyans want sustainable transportation options.”
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware were among plaintiffs in the suit against a Trump administration freeze on the $5 billion. It’s unclear whether Trump administration officials will appeal.
The states’ legal challenge stemmed from an executive order President Donald Trump signed on his Inauguration Day to eliminate EV mandates — which the suit states never existed.
Regardless, the suit stated, the administration used the order to “immediately pause the disbursement of funds” for EV infrastructure appropriated through the Inflation Reduction and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs acts signed by Biden.
Other states that joined the suit included Washington, Colorado, California, Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Davenport called the Trump administration’s refusal to spend funds approved by Congress “unlawful.”