Biden Is Racing To Boost Ev Charging Networks Before Trump Takes Office

Joe Biden has greenlit billions in funding for EV charging during his one term as president.Katie McTiernan/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesThe Biden administration said in 2021 it would invest $7.5 billion in building a national EV-charging network.Officials are now racing to approve the next round of funding before Donald Trump takes office.Trump has vowed to crack down on government spending and roll back support for EVs.The Biden administration is racing to approve funding for the US EV charging network before Trump takes office.The government announced it would invest $7.5 billion toward charging infrastructure in 2021, with the aim of building 500,000 electric vehicle chargers by 2030.The money is distributed through two programs: the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, which apportions $5 billion out to individual states over five years to deploy EV chargers initially on highways, and the $2.5 billion Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) grant program.Those programs are now under threat, however, with the incoming president, Donald Trump, blasting the government's EV charger rollout and vowing to scrap incentives to promote the adoption of electric vehicles as president,A spokesperson for the Department of Transportation told Business Insider that $2.4 billion of the funding for the NEVI program had been approved so far.As of late November, 37 states had received approval for a third round of funding under the program, the department said, unlocking an additional $586 million for the 2025 fiscal year.Funds for the additional 13 states plus DC and Puerto Rico are expected to be approved before the end of the year.President-elect Donald Trump, who counts Tesla CEO Elon Musk as one of his closest supporters, has vowed to crack down on government support for EVs.Getty ImagesKelsey Blongewicz, a policy analyst at Atlas Public Policy, told Business Insider that if those funds are released before Trump takes office on January 20th, as they have been in previous years, then it is unlikely the new administration could revoke them."If that funding is released before then, in theory, it is safe," Blongewicz said."It would be not impossible, but very hard for the new administration to claw that back," she added.The clock is tickingIf the funding is approved, an estimated $3.3 billion of the total pot for the NEVI program will be committed, according to a Department of Transportation breakdown, effectively putting it beyond the reach of the Trump administration.The Biden administration has also awarded over $1.3 billion of the $2.5 billion in funding for the CFI program so far, according to the Department of Transportation, with bidding for another $779 million in grants currently open.Blongewicz said that the new administration will likely be able to take steps to slow down or frustrate the rollout of those remaining funds, especially for the competitive grants of the CFI program.Scrapping both programs entirely would require congressional approval, however.