The build-out of electric-vehicle charging in the United States has continued since Donald Trump returned to office, but the Trump administration and Congress have introduced new steps that could slow the deployment of charging stations, according to reporting. The developments come as fast-charging equipment has kept expanding even while the overall availability of charging remains a concern for drivers considering an EV purchase.
In Detroit, the Associated Press reported that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy this week announced new federal rules tied to how chargers must be built if states receive federal funding. Duffy said chargers will have to be installed with equipment made entirely with U.S. parts, a requirement that replaces an earlier approach focused on a partial “American-made” threshold. Duffy framed the policy around domestic manufacturing and “America First,” while the requirement, experts said, could be difficult to meet given the current supply chain.
AP reported that the administration’s actions also include moves aimed at EV-charging money flowing to certain states. The AP said the administration has directed the Department of Transportation to cancel charger funds for California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota, which are governed by Democrats, while representatives for the offices of the four governors said they had not yet received official notice of the cancellations. Separately, the AP reported that Congress has rescinded more than $800 million in previously appropriated charger funding in recent budget-bill decisions affecting states including Texas and Florida.
Fast-charging installations have still grown rapidly. The AP said a year-end report from data firm Paren found the industry added more than 18,000 new fast-charging ports, representing a 30% year-over-year increase. The AP report described fast charging as especially important for drivers taking longer trips or for those without alternatives such as home charging, which can be done overnight or over longer periods.
The AP also said slower charging options, known as Level 1 and Level 2 charging, have grown as well, but that charging availability remains a consideration for some drivers evaluating whether to buy an EV. Against that backdrop, the AP reported that the new federal requirement for “fully American-made” chargers has the potential to affect how quickly projects can be approved and installed.
A central focus for the policy changes is the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, created out of the Biden administration’s 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. AP reported that the program initially provided $5 billion to states over five years to help fill public charging gaps, emphasizing highway corridors and other areas needing charging infrastructure. AP also said an additional $2.5 billion was allocated through the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program.
The AP report described earlier steps under the Trump administration to halt charging spending, and it said the dispute has already reached court. It said that last February the Trump administration directed states to stop spending the funds, and that in May, 17 states sued and challenged the Federal Highway Administration, with a federal judge ruling the money had to be released to 14 recipients. AP added that after a second lawsuit filed at the end of last year by 16 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia over $2 billion in withheld funding, a judge in January ordered the administration to release those funds as well.
Even with those rulings, the AP reported that Congress’s spending reallocation and Duffy’s proposed “fully American-made” charger rule could present additional hurdles for the NEVI program. Loren McDonald, chief analyst at EV data firm Chargeonomics, told AP that only a fraction of the obligated funding has been spent so far because not all funds have been available, and he said the new changes could still delay or potentially end the program.
The AP report also placed the charging developments in a broader policy direction affecting EV adoption in the United States. It said Trump has targeted multiple policies that were favorable to cleaner vehicles, including revoking a Biden administration goal to have half of new vehicle sales in the U.S. be electric by 2030. The AP also said Congress eliminated federal tax credits that had saved buyers up to $7,500 off new and used EV purchases in a tax and spending bill signed by Trump last summer, and it reported plans to weaken rules for automakers’ average fuel economy while undermining climate regulations tied to auto tailpipe emissions.
Albert Gore, executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association, said the new “fully American-made” standard could create disruptions. “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,” Gore said, according to the AP report. Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, ranking member of the Senate’s environment committee, criticized the policy and said the “message” of the administration’s actions was to prevent new EV-charger construction.
Ben Prochazka, executive director of the nonprofit Electrification Coalition, also argued that the EV transition should not be treated primarily as a climate-debate dispute. The AP report quoted him saying, “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,” adding to the broader debate over how federal policy choices will shape charging access and the pace of EV adoption.