In apparent defiance of court orders, the Trump administration is refusing to release congressionally authorized spending for electric vehicle infrastructure, Politico reported.
On Thursday, the Trump administration halted $5 billion in funding allocated via the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, appearing to violate the 1974 Impoundment Control Act as well as multiple court orders requiring the Trump administration to halt its unilateral funding freeze.
According to a letter from a Federal Highway Administration official, Emily Biondi, the administration is halting “new obligations” under the electric vehicle infrastructure program while allowing states to receive reimbursements for “existing obligations.”
While the move from Trump immediately disrupts work on the infrastructure projects, it also calls into question whether Trump and his administration are violating the orders of two separate federal courts, which have directed the administration to halt its efforts to freeze federal spending without congressional approval. Under the Constitution, it is Congress, not the president, that authorizes spending decisions.
Andrew Rogers, a deputy administrator for the FHWA under President Joe Biden, told Politico that the move from Trump “appears to ignore both the law and multiple restraining orders that have been issued by federal courts.”
With billionaire Elon Musk acting to disassemble entire federal agencies authorized by Congress, namely the United States Agency for International Development, both legal experts and conservatives alike have questioned whether the Trump administration will abide by court orders that stand in the way of his power grab.
As a White House lawyer for former President George W. Bush, Richard Painter, told Salon: “At the end of the day, there's only one branch with control of an army and that's the executive branch and the president.”
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