EVs in Government and Military, Funding for Public Chargers Could Be Banned Under Trump

Documents from president-elect Donald Trump’s transition team, suggest there could be sweeping changes to electric-vehicle policies and emissions standards put in place during the current presidential administration. These could include a rollback on funding to public EV charging stations and a ban on the purchase and development of EVs for the federal government and military.

As reported by Reuters, documents from the transition team show the new administration taking a hard line against Chinese EV imports, including batteries, and ending programs that would encourage government agencies and the US military to buy or develop electric vehicles.

This follows previous reports that the Trump administration will seek to eliminate tax credits for EV purchases and other clean-energy programs, including those that cover residential solar panels. 

The president-elect has promised steep tariffs against China as well as Mexico and Canada that could have big implications for the auto industry. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is part of the Trump transition team and could benefit in several ways from the new presidency, with some of the new EV policies hurting competitors to Tesla in the electric vehicle space.

The proposed plans also call for pulling back funds from a $7.5 billion initiative to build an EV charging network across the country. 

The transition-team documents include other recommendations including loosening emissions standards, which would allow automakers to release vehicles in 2025 that have 25 percent more emissions than was previously mandated. The recommendations also suggest blocking the state of California from setting its own emission standards, which would be stricter than in other states.