I wrote this piece for the Gainesville Sun. It was published on Monday.
Within hours of assuming the presidency, Donald Trump pulled the plug on Gainesville’s plug-in ambitions. At least temporarily.
This coming less than a week after Gainesville announced it had been awarded $11.65 million from the Biden Administration to build new EV charging stations.
Gainesville’s award was based on a $5 billion federal program intended to spur installation of new EV charging stations throughout the nation. As of the end of 2024, $2.4 billion had already been granted to cities and states coast to coast.
Shortly after taking office, however, Trump signed an executive order to withhold funding from that program.
As a result, City Transportation Director Jesus Gomez said any further action on the grant award will be placed on hold for 90 days pending clarification.
“We haven’t received any official communication about it at this point,” said Mayor Harvey Ward. “I am prepared for it to have been a wonderful idea that won’t happen, but I also am prepared to get the funds.”
There are currently 126 charging stations in Gainesville. The federal funds would enable construction of 46 more.
The decision to halt charging station funding disbursal is part of a wider-ranging executive order intended to end what Trump has called the previous administration’s “EV mandate.” The order also seeks, among other things, to end the federal tax credit for EV purchases and low interest loans to encourage auto makers to manufacture more EVs.
Those incentives have already “leveraged billions of dollars in private sector investments,” said Anne Blair, vice president of policy for the Electrification Coalition, which supports the development and widespread use of EVs in America.
“We are very disappointed with this announcement and very concerned about the impacts this will have for communities that really want to support electric transportation. Billions of dollars have been committed and many cities already have contracts to build charging stations. “We really hope that those commitments are honored, and legally they should be.”
Part of the confusion over the future of the program is the question of whether President Trump has the authority to halt, via executive order, disbursal of federal funds that have already been approved by Congress.
Under the terms of the Impoundment Control Act – passed by Congress after the Nixon Administration tried to withhold billions of dollars in federal spending – the President must receive Congressional approval to halt funding that has already been budgeted. If approval is not granted within 45 days, the funds must be spent.
On its face, Trump’s order is “illegal” under the Impoundment Act, said Blair. “Only time will tell how this pause and review process turns out.”
Unfortunately, Mayor Ward said, it could take weeks, even months before Trump’s ability to withhold the funding is clarified.
“The good news for Gainesville is that since we were in the last batch of (award) announcements, we haven’t actually spent any money yet. Cities that have already gotten started in the process, actually have spent funds.”
Many of those grants have been awarded to cities and states with heavy Republican representation, Blair said. “We are advising cities to reach out to their members of Congress and let them know about the economic benefits these projects will have.”
Under the conditions of the grant Gainesville would secure a $2.9 million local match and contract with a private firm to undertake construction of the stations. The City would also conduct community engagement sessions to gather public input about the work.
“This is something our community has been looking forward to,” said City Commissioner Bryan Eastman. “It will create good jobs and an infrastructure for the future that will make our city a better place to live. It would be a shame if it doesn’t go forward. It would put us back in our ability to invest in that kind of infrastructure.”
FreeGNV 