The Department of Transportation has ordered a halt to part of Joe Biden's Green New Deal grift that was supposed to build a network of electric vehicle charging stations across the US. This should have been no surprise as President Trump called for agencies to terminate this program in his January 20 executive order, titled "Unleashing American Energy," in a section called “Terminating the Green New Deal.” 

In a letter, the Federal Highway Administration ordered a pause in all activities associated with constructing charging stations pending a review by the new management.

The new leadership of the Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) has decided to review the policies underlying the implementation of the NEVI Formula Program. Accordingly, the current NEVI Formula Program Guidance dated June 11, 2024, and all prior versions of this guidance are rescinded. 

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As result of the rescission of the NEVI Formula Program Guidance, FHWA is also immediately suspending the approval of all State Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment plans for all fiscal years. Therefore, effective immediately, no new obligations may occur under the NEVI Formula Program until the updated final NEVI Formula Program Guidance is issued and new State plans are submitted and approved. Instructions for the submission of new State plans for all fiscal years will be included in the updated final NEVI Formula Program Guidance. Since FHWA is suspending the existing State plans, States will be held harmless for not implementing their existing plans. Until new guidance is issued, reimbursement of existing obligations will be allowed in order to not disrupt current financial commitments.

In a sad way, this is a metaphor for Joe Biden and his administration. It was clownish, expensive, and an abject failure. It had the two-part objective of gaining applause from the clapping seals in the bought-and-paid-for media and enriching politically connected people and companies.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which Biden signed in November 2021, included $7.5 billion for EV charging. Of that, $5 billion was allocated to individual states in so-called “formula funding” to build a network of fast chargers along major highways in the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, or NEVI, program.

But after two years, that program has only delivered seven open charging stations with a total of 38 spots where drivers can charge their vehicles, according to a spokesperson for the Federal Highway Administration. (The funding should be enough to build up to 20,000 charging spots or around 5,000 stations, according to analysis from the EV policy analyst group Atlas Public Policy.) Stations are open in Hawaii, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania and under construction in four other states.

Because the grant program is required by law, the Trump administration can't simply delete it. The delay will give them time to develop a strategy for dealing with it while stopping the cash hemorrhage to support the stupidity. If only we controlled the Legislative Branch, that might be possible, but because it seems like the GOP is having much more fun engaging in "sick burns" on social media and infighting, in the end, it will be Trump who has to decide how to put this stupid program to rest permanently.