Attorney General Matthew Platkin says suspension of infrastructure programs violates federal law and harms state economy.
TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced that the state has joined a coalition of 17 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging it unlawfully suspended two federally funded electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure programs created under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
According to the complaint, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration stopped approving new funding under the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Program and the Electric Vehicle Charger Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator Program earlier this year. The suit claims the suspension of the programs, which were approved by bipartisan majorities in Congress, violates the constitutional separation of powers and the Administrative Procedure Act.
Attorney General Platkin said the administration’s refusal to release the funds is impeding state progress on green transportation initiatives, job creation, and pollution reduction. “Once again, the Trump Administration is clawing away money from our state and hurting our residents,” Platkin said. “Instead of supporting these commonsense investments, it is illegally suspending federal funding Congress has mandated.”
Programs targeted in lawsuit funded New Jersey projects
Under the 2022 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the CFI and Accelerator programs were designed to expand the nation’s EV charging network over a five-year period. New Jersey had previously been awarded $10 million in CFI funding to build chargers near multi-unit housing and transit hubs, along with nearly $6 million in Accelerator funding to modernize charging infrastructure statewide.
State officials say those initiatives have stalled since the USDOT halted fund obligations in spring 2025, leaving shovel-ready projects without federal reimbursement. The lawsuit asserts that this inaction has caused economic harm, delayed construction jobs, and undercut environmental progress.
Coalition seeks court order to restore EV funding
The complaint, filed in federal court, asks judges to declare the administration’s actions unlawful and compel the agencies to release the appropriated funds. The coalition argues that federal departments are constitutionally required to carry out congressional mandates and cannot unilaterally suspend them.
Platkin said restoring the funding is critical to New Jersey’s climate and transportation goals. “Our residents deserve cleaner air, stronger infrastructure, and the jobs these programs create,” he said. “We’re taking action to make sure that happens.”
The lawsuit marks one of the first coordinated legal challenges to the administration’s policy reversals affecting infrastructure projects approved under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.