The Claim

Terminated hundreds of Biden-era Green New Scam projects, including the $7.5 billion federal EV charger program, which, as of May 2024, had built just 8 EV charging stations.

The Claim, Unpacked

What is literally being asserted?

Three things: (1) the administration terminated “hundreds” of Biden-era clean energy projects; (2) one such terminated program was the $7.5 billion federal EV charger initiative; and (3) that program had produced only 8 charging stations as of May 2024.

What is being implied but not asserted?

That the EV charger program was a catastrophic waste of taxpayer money — $7.5 billion spent for just 8 stations. That the Biden-era clean energy agenda was a “scam” in the literal sense of fraud or deceit. That terminating these programs saved taxpayers from further waste. That the administration successfully and permanently ended these programs.

What is conspicuously absent?

Several critical facts: (1) The “7 or 8 stations” figure comes from a Politico report dated March 4, 2024, not May 2024, and reflected an early snapshot of a program designed with a multi-year deployment timeline — by late 2024, stations were opening across dozens of states. (2) The EV charger program was not terminated — the Trump administration attempted to freeze it in February 2025, the GAO determined the freeze was unlawful, and a federal judge (Judge Tana Lin, W.D. Washington) permanently protected the program in January 2026. (3) The actual funding breakdown: $5 billion for the NEVI Formula Program (distributed to all 50 states) plus $2.5 billion in Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) competitive grants — both from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed by Biden but passed with significant Republican support. (4) The “hundreds of projects” claim is vague — the Rescissions Act of 2025 (Item 84) contained zero IRA clean energy rescissions. The OBBBA repealed IRA tax credits but did not terminate specific projects already under contract. (5) The program had ramped up significantly: by October 2024, the US surpassed 200,000 public EV charging ports; by Q3 2025, it exceeded 64,000 DC fast-charging ports. (6) By January 2026, 48 states had committed over $1.4 billion toward the NEVI network, and states had obligated $895 million in new projects since the freeze ended.

Evidence Assessment

Established Facts

The NEVI (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) Formula Program was authorized under the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), signed November 15, 2021, allocating $5 billion over five years. An additional $2.5 billion was authorized for competitive Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) grants — bringing the total EV charging allocation to $7.5 billion. The IIJA passed with 69 votes in the Senate, including 19 Republicans. The NEVI program was administered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) with a formula distributing funds to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. States were required to submit deployment plans before drawing down funds. ¹

As of early March 2024, only 7-8 NEVI-funded stations were operational — but this figure reflected a program in its initial deployment phase, not its final state. Politico reported on March 4, 2024 that just 7 stations had been built with the federal funding, citing the slow process of state plan approvals, site selection, permitting, utility interconnection, and construction. The White House claim dates this figure to “May 2024” and rounds to “8 stations,” but the specific timeline and count originate from that earlier reporting. Critically, the NEVI program was designed as a multi-year buildout requiring states to first submit plans, then solicit bids, then complete construction — not a stimulus program intended to produce immediate results. Ohio opened the nation’s first NEVI-funded stations in December 2023, followed by Pennsylvania in January 2024 and Hawaii in February 2024. ²

By late 2024, the NEVI program was accelerating rapidly, with stations opening across dozens of states. Rhode Island became the first state to have its entire designated alternative fuel corridor certified as fully built out (July 2024). By October 2024, the Biden administration celebrated reaching 200,000 public EV charging ports nationwide (from all funding sources). NEVI stations opened in Vermont (April 2024), Utah (June 2024), Kentucky (September 2024), Texas (December 2024), Michigan (December 2024), Wisconsin (December 2024), and Colorado (January 2025), among others. Before the Trump freeze, 39 states had issued solicitations, awards, or contracts worth $526 million under the NEVI program. ³

The Trump administration ordered states to suspend NEVI deployment plans in February 2025, but a federal court permanently blocked this action. Following Executive Order 14154 (“Unleashing American Energy”), signed January 20, 2025, the Department of Transportation directed states to halt all EV infrastructure deployment plans. California and 16 other states, plus environmental nonprofits, filed suit. The GAO determined the fund freeze was unlawful under the Impoundment Control Act in May 2025. Federal Judge Tana Lin of the Western District of Washington entered final judgment in January 2026 “permanently protecting the NEVI program across all 50 states,” ruling that the federal government could not unilaterally pause a program Congress had explicitly authorized and funded. ⁴

The OBBBA (signed July 4, 2025) repealed IRA clean energy tax credits but did not rescind NEVI/IIJA appropriations. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminated consumer and commercial EV tax credits effective September 30, 2025 (see Item 232). However, the NEVI program was funded through the IIJA, not the IRA, and its appropriations were not rescinded by the OBBBA. The Rescissions Act of 2025 (Item 84) similarly contained zero IRA clean energy rescissions. Republicans in Congress separately attempted to strip approximately $875 million in NEVI funds through the FY2026 transportation appropriations bill, but this was an ongoing appropriations fight, not an accomplished “termination.” ⁵

After the court-ordered unfreezing, NEVI deployment resumed and accelerated. All 50 states submitted new implementation plans within 30 days of the freeze being lifted (approximately August 2025). By January 2026, states had obligated $895 million in new NEVI projects since the freeze ended. A total of 48 states had committed over $1.4 billion toward building the national EV charging network. The US exceeded 64,000 DC fast-charging ports by Q3 2025. However, the year-long freeze caused significant damage: states had to restart procurement pipelines, with Arizona not expecting construction on 31 new locations to begin until 2027. ⁶

Strong Inferences

The claim that “hundreds” of projects were “terminated” conflates attempted freezes with accomplished terminations. The administration attempted to freeze multiple categories of clean energy spending: NEVI funds at FHWA, DOE loan program disbursements, and IRA grant programs. However, courts repeatedly blocked these freezes as unlawful impoundments. The OBBBA’s clean energy provisions primarily operated through tax credit repeal (prospective elimination of future incentives) rather than terminating existing contracted projects. The Rhodium Group estimated the OBBBA would reduce new clean energy capacity additions by 57-62% through 2035 — but through eliminating future incentives, not terminating existing projects. The distinction between “terminated hundreds of projects” and “repealed future tax credits while courts blocked attempts to freeze existing appropriations” is substantial. ⁷

The “Green New Scam” label is a rhetorical device disconnected from the actual programs targeted. No legislation called the “Green New Deal” was ever enacted. The programs in question — NEVI, IRA clean energy tax credits, DOE loan programs — were passed through the bipartisan IIJA (with 19 Republican Senate votes) and the IRA. Calling bipartisan infrastructure spending a “scam” is a characterization, not a factual description. The Rescissions Act of 2025 (Item 84) contained only $125 million in international climate-related rescissions and zero domestic clean energy rescissions, despite the “Green New Scam” framing. ⁸

Citing the “8 stations” figure without context is a classic denominator problem. The $7.5 billion was appropriated over five years with a structured deployment process requiring state plans, site selection, permitting, and construction. Measuring stations completed in the program’s first 18-24 months against the total multi-year appropriation creates a misleading ratio. An analogous framing would be: “The $550 billion infrastructure law, which as of Month 18 had completed just 2 bridges” — technically accurate at any early snapshot but deliberately misleading about the program’s design and trajectory. By the time the administration “terminated” the program (February 2025), it was accelerating, not stalled. ⁹

What the Evidence Shows

The claim packages three assertions — “terminated hundreds of projects,” “including the $7.5 billion EV charger program,” and “built just 8 stations” — into a narrative of righteous cleanup of Biden-era waste. Each piece is either false, misleading, or stripped of essential context.

Start with the most verifiable sub-claim: the “8 EV charging stations as of May 2024.” The actual figure was 7 stations as of March 2024, reported by Politico. The White House rounds up and shifts the date. But even accepting the approximate accuracy of the snapshot, it reflects a program in its initial deployment phase. The NEVI program required every state to submit deployment plans, solicit bids, complete environmental review, arrange utility interconnections, and then build. This is infrastructure construction, not app development. By late 2024, stations were opening across dozens of states, Rhode Island had completed its entire corridor buildout, and the US had surpassed 200,000 public charging ports. The trajectory was accelerating — which is precisely what the “8 stations” framing is designed to obscure.

The central claim — that the program was “terminated” — is factually false. The Trump administration attempted to freeze NEVI funds in February 2025. This freeze was declared unlawful by the GAO, challenged by 17 state attorneys general, and permanently blocked by a federal judge. By January 2026, the program was not only alive but had obligated $895 million in new projects since the freeze ended, with 48 states committing over $1.4 billion total. The administration’s action was not a termination but an attempted impoundment that the courts rejected.

The “hundreds of Biden-era Green New Scam projects” framing is the vaguest part of the claim and the hardest to verify precisely because of its vagueness. The OBBBA did repeal IRA clean energy tax credits, which the Rhodium Group estimates will reduce clean energy deployment by 57-62% through 2035. This is a significant policy change. But repealing future tax incentives is different from “terminating” existing projects. The Rescissions Act (Item 84) contained zero IRA clean energy rescissions. The DOE loan program faced freeze attempts that were also challenged in court. The word “terminated” implies completed, irreversible action when the reality was a series of attempted freezes, most of which were blocked by courts as unlawful.

The Bottom Line

The claim gets two things approximately right: the early NEVI station count was genuinely low (though the date and exact number are slightly off), and the administration did aggressively pursue the elimination of Biden-era clean energy programs. These facts deserve acknowledgment. But the claim is mostly false on its central assertions. The EV charger program was not “terminated” — it was temporarily frozen, the freeze was ruled unlawful, and the program resumed with all 50 states participating. The “8 stations” figure, while roughly accurate for a specific early moment, is presented without the context that the program was designed for multi-year deployment and was accelerating rapidly by the time the administration acted. The “hundreds of projects” language is unverifiable rhetoric. And calling bipartisan infrastructure spending — passed with 19 Republican Senate votes — a “Green New Scam” is political branding, not factual description. The administration tried to kill the EV charger program and failed, then claimed credit for having killed it.

Footnotes

1. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58), Division J, Title VIII, Sections 11401-11403 (NEVI Formula Program). Signed November 15, 2021. Senate passed 69-30. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684 ↩

2. Politico, “Just 7 EV charging stations built with $7.5 billion in federal funds,” March 4, 2024; DriveElectric.gov NEVI station opening timeline, showing Ohio (December 2023), Pennsylvania (January 2024), Hawaii (February 2024). https://driveelectric.gov/news ↩

3. DriveElectric.gov news archive documenting state-by-state NEVI station openings through January 2025. Rhode Island corridor certification July 17, 2024. Biden White House October 2024 announcement of 200,000 public charging ports milestone. CleanTechnica, “Republicans Set to Kill Giant EV Charging Program,” January 20, 2026 (noting 39 states had issued solicitations worth $526 million before the freeze). https://driveelectric.gov/news ↩

4. Electrek NEVI coverage archive documenting February 2025 state deployment suspension order, 17-state legal challenge, GAO unlawful impoundment determination (May 2025), and Judge Tana Lin (W.D. Washington) permanent injunction (January 2026). Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson quoted: “the federal government cannot simply pause a program Congress explicitly authorized and funded.” CleanTechnica, “The NEVI Funds Are Finally Unfrozen,” March 11, 2026. https://cleantechnica.com/2026/03/11/the-nevi-funds-are-finally-unfrozen/ ↩

5. One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21), Section 40006, repealing IRA EV tax credits effective September 30, 2025. Rescissions Act of 2025 (H.R. 4) full text analysis confirming zero IRA clean energy rescissions (see Item 84 analysis). Sierra Club reporting $875 million in NEVI funds targeted for rescission in FY2026 transportation appropriations. CleanTechnica, “Republicans Set to Kill Giant EV Charging Program,” January 20, 2026. https://cleantechnica.com/2026/01/20/republicans-set-to-kill-giant-ev-charging-program/ ↩

6. CleanTechnica, “Republicans Set to Kill Giant EV Charging Program,” January 20, 2026 (documenting 50-state plan resubmission, $895 million obligated post-freeze, $1.4 billion committed by 48 states). Electrek NEVI archive documenting US exceeding 64,000 DC fast-charging ports by Q3 2025. Arizona DOT restart timeline noting 2027 construction start for 31 locations. https://cleantechnica.com/2026/01/20/republicans-set-to-kill-giant-ev-charging-program/ ↩

7. Rhodium Group, “Assessing the Impacts of the Final One Big Beautiful Bill,” 2025 (estimating 57-62% reduction in new clean capacity through 2035 and $522 billion in clean energy investments at risk). OBBBA provisions repealing future tax incentives. Court rulings blocking attempted impoundments of existing appropriations. https://rhg.com/research/assessing-the-impacts-of-the-final-one-big-beautiful-bill/ ↩

8. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Senate vote: 69-30 (19 Republican votes). Rescissions Act of 2025 full-text analysis (see Item 84). No “Green New Deal” legislation was ever enacted into law. ↩

9. FHWA NEVI program structure requiring sequential state plan approval, solicitation, award, and construction phases. DriveElectric.gov station opening timeline showing acceleration through 2024-2025. ↩