This past February, the U.S. administration ordered states not to spend $5 billion USD in funds previously allocated by the Biden administration as part of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program.

This week, a U.S. district judge ordered the Trump administration to release funds previously granted to 14 states for the development of their EV charging infrastructure. She granted a partial injunction to states that filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump's government, specifically his Department of Transportation.

Judge Tana Lin is based in Seattle; she was appointed by President Joe Biden in 2021.

The program put forward by Biden allows states to cover up to 80 percent of the costs related to electric vehicle charging station deployment projects.

President Trump has repeatedly stated that climate change is a conspiracy and not real, and he has moved to shut down programs aimed at helping the transition to electric vehicles, choosing instead to promote large-scale oil drilling.

This past May, attorneys general from 17 states sued the Trump administration to unblock the funds in May; the action was led by California, the state with the highest number of electric vehicles.

"It's no secret that the Trump administration is beholden to the fossil fuel agenda," said Rob Bonta, California's Attorney General.

The Democrat praised Judge Lin's order and stated that California "looks forward to continuing to vigorously defend against this executive overreach."

In response to the decision, a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation on Wednesday called the Biden-era NEVI program a “disaster” and said Judge Lin was “another liberal judicial activist making absurd rulings from the bench because she hates President Trump.” The administration has not indicated, however, if it intends to appeal the decision.

The Trump administration has until July 2nd to appeal or release funds under Judge Lin's order.