California Sues the Trump Administration for Violating the Constitution—Again

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday with a coalition of 17 attorneys general, California said the administration is illegally withholding the $5 billion Congress allocated to states for EV-charging infrastructure.

California filed its latest lawsuit against the Trump administration Wednesday, this time for withholding billions of dollars allocated by Congress for electric charging infrastructure.

California and attorneys general from 15 other states and the District of Columbia are suing the Federal Highway Administration for trying to thwart Congress’ $5 billion program to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the nation, said California Attorney General Rob Bonta at a press briefing. 

“The Federal Highway Administration’s unlawful action could cost California, specifically, more than $300 million, eliminate thousands of good-paying jobs and damage a critical emerging industry,” Bonta said.

Once again, Donald Trump’s actions go beyond the scope of his presidential power, Bonta said, noting that the recent complaint is the state’s 19th in 15 weeks. 

President Trump has been taking unlawful actions at a pace of more than once a week, Bonta said. “We have promised to meet him in court each and every time he breaks the law and hurts California, and so today we are meeting him in court once again.”

Inside Climate News asked the White House how President Trump, who ran on bringing jobs and prosperity to America, justified a policy that would lead California to lose jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars. The White House press office directed ICN to the Department of Transportation, which did not respond to a request for comment.

Congress approved the funds to build electric vehicle charging infrastructure under the landmark Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It is the first infrastructure law to address the climate crisis and the first federal investment in EV-charging infrastructure.

The Constitution “grants the power of the purse to Congress, not the President,” argued the attorneys general in charging the administration with violating the Separation of Powers Doctrine and usurping congressional authority, among other illegal actions.

The attorneys general charged the Federal Highway Administration with carrying out President Trump’s Day One executive order to eliminate the “electric vehicle (EV) mandate,” which, the complaint says, never existed.

But in the name of eliminating this fictional mandate, the complaint argues, the executive order directs the Federal Highway Administration to usurp the legislative and spending powers reserved for Congress by withholding congressionally appropriated funding for EV-charging infrastructure required by statute to be distributed to states.

“This unlawful executive order violates the Constitution. It tramples over the separation of powers, and it ignores the will of the people,” Bonta said.

Withholding these congressionally allocated funds will harm California’s ability to build the charging infrastructure necessary for making electric vehicles accessible to more consumers and to continue to take meaningful steps to combat climate change, reduce harmful pollution and support a greener economy, Bonta said. “These actions are coming at a time when we’re facing, of course, a climate crisis that’s getting worse by the day.”

California will need more than several hundred thousand additional electric vehicle charging ports to meet state-mandated climate targets and EV demand by 2030. 

But the Federal Highway Administration’s actions threaten to delay construction and stop local industry from building these chargers, Bonta said. “We can’t, and we won’t let that happen.”

California has long aimed to lead the nation in combating climate change and, as the most populous state, now accounts for about 30 percent of new zero emission vehicles sold in the United States. It also has more EV charge plugs than gasoline nozzles, said California Energy Commission Chair David Hoschschild, who joined Bonta in the briefing.

With transportation the leading cause of air pollution in the state, Hochschild said, continuing the transition to electric vehicles is important for public health as well as the climate.

Bonta’s predecessor, Xavier Becerra, sued the administration 123 times during Trump’s first term. Bonta vowed not to sit back while the administration continues to violate the Constitution and the law this term.

“We do not expect the president’s barrage of unlawful, chaotic and disruptive executive orders and actions to slow down, which means neither will our work ahead,” Bonta said. 

“We’ve got to be dogged in every avenue to address the climate crisis in California,” he added. “That is part of our DNA. It’s part of our legacy.”

Cover photo:  A Nissan Leaf EV charges at station on Sept. 23, 2024 in Pasadena, Calif. Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images