As President Donald Trump’s first week in office comes to a close, his biggest success is what many of us expected: chaos and confusion.
Among the many executive orders the president has signed, some threaten democracy and others endanger the planet. But others support more spectacular principles than mere necessity, e.g Printing tweets on paperSigning them with a black sharpie, and holding them up for the world to see.
The challenge there, of course, is that only legal scholars know at first glance which of Trump’s executive orders will affect policy — and which. will be held in court for several years. Still, pieces of paper scare and confuse people. And that confusion will hang around, holding back real progress for a meaningful amount of time. Trump’s The first attack on the fictional electric vehicle “mandate”. serves as a perfect example of this technique.
Hours after being sworn in, Trump signed an executive order with the cinematic title “Manifest American power. ” In it he outlines several new policies, as the title implies, “Unleashing America’s Affordable and Reliable Energy and Natural Resources.” It’s code: promote fossil fuels and fuel the renewable energy transition.
When Trump EVs are targeted in several questionable ways In its first week, let’s focus on one specific issue in this executive order: Section 7, titled “End the Green New Deal.” The department is pursuing programs that help build EV charging infrastructure in the country. It specifically targets National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program And Charging and Fuel Infrastructure (CFI) Grant ProgrammeThat came out of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, one of former President Joe Biden’s signature accomplishments. Together, the two programs allocate $7.5 billion to build U.S. charging infrastructure. Trump wants to end unexpected funding disbursements from those programs.
Trump said he was going to do it on the campaign trail. He made false claims That trillion dollars was unexpectedAnd his administration will “redirect that money to important projects like roads, bridges, dams, and we won’t let it be spent on meaningless green new scam ideas.” So it was ironic when Trump issued an executive order targeting US infrastructure, the Federal Highway Administration, which aims to build roads and dams. Stop payments and stop approving new projects Out of plenty of caution.
The Trump administration, to its credit, Issue a memorandum A day later, clarifying that the executive order only applied to “funds supporting the Green New Deal.” The Green New Deal is not the same as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. actually, Although this is a popular ideaThe Green New Deal is not real – it is not law at all. This is the concluding part of the concept The GOP’s latest party platformwhich referred to it as the “Socialist Green New Deal”.
As Trump has promised to freeze this EV charging infrastructure funding in its tracks, legal experts explain that he Can’t actually close these programs. Doing so would likely violate Impoundment Control Act of 1974That prevents our presidents from blocking spending appropriated by Congress. President Trump It has also promised to repeal that law and empower its executive branch. But he will need Congress to do that.
Trump would also require Congress to end programs that provide funding for EV charging infrastructure. Meanwhile, 22 of the 25 congressional districts receiving federal funding for EV production are represented by Republicans. So any real attack on the industry is likely to face resistance on Capitol Hill, where Republicans There is a narrow majority In both the House and the Senate.
“These programs are legally binding, widely supported and designed to prevent political unrest,” said Cathy HarrisDirector of Clean Vehicles, Climate and Energy, Natural Resources Defense Council. “The rhetoric is designed to grab the headlines, but the reality is more complex.”
It’s theater, and it’s nothing new for Trump.
That said, Trump’s decision to attack EVS as one of his first acts in office deserves some concern. He is effectively setting the tone for his presidency, and that tone is decidedly hostile to the environment.
In addition to freezing funding for EV charging infrastructure, Trump rescinded an executive order from President Biden that called for half of all new vehicles sold. to be electric By 2030, Trump also plans to go back The EPA rules were issued last year It implements stricter tailpipe emission standards in an effort to combat climate change. Trump wants too To end EV subsidies and incentives7,500 with tax credit for those who buy a new EV. His executive order, so far, does neither of these things.
The auto industry, to its credit, doesn’t seem too tarnished by any of this.
Some companies, however, scaled back some plans before Trump’s win — Ford notably A three-row electric SUV is canceled Last August – There is no doubt that the future will be electrified when it comes to transportation. Betting on fossil fuels at this point would be foolish. In Harris’ words, “The American auto industry is not in a bubble, and the global auto industry is moving toward these cleaner vehicles.”
Trump is leaving himself quite the opening here. He’s not directly targeting the American auto industry by leading a ban on EV chargers. It’s almost as if the executive order is a line of applause, and he’s waiting to gauge audience reaction before axing programs like tax credits that go directly to automakers and buyers. affects And while he holds this mandate, the signature tweet so to speak, Trump leaves the real stakeholders in the hands of their caps, wondering once again if he can really do it. whether
Finding clarity here will take months, if not years.
