SANTA CRUZ — An executive order issued by newly sworn-in President Donald Trump has jeopardized a federal grant the city of Santa Cruz planned to use to install dozens of electric vehicle charging stations across the county, a city official told the Sentinel Tuesday.
This month, U.S. Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Jimmy Panetta announced they had helped secure more than $14.3 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration that was expected to go toward the installation of electric vehicle charging ports at 44 sites across Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, including in Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Aptos, Scotts Valley and Boulder Creek.
But Tiffany Wise-West, Santa Cruz’s sustainability and resiliency officer and the project lead, said in an email that Trump’s “Unleashing American Energy” executive order, signed Monday, could end up pulling the plug on those plans.
Wise-West wrote that city staff is “evaluating an executive order signed (Monday) by the new president that unfortunately puts the certainty of the funding into question.”
Section 7 of the order titled “Terminating the Green New Deal,” which was introduced by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2021 but never made it out of various House subcommittees, instructs all agencies to immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. According to the order, this includes but is not limited to funds for electric vehicle charging stations made available through the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program that funded the Santa Cruz initiative.
In a statement shared with the Sentinel Tuesday, Lofgren was clear about her thoughts on the notion that Trump could interfere with the dispersal of funds approved by a previous Congress.
“The President does not have the authority to impound funds that Congress has appropriated — it is entirely unconstitutional,” said Lofgren. “With that being said, I understand the confusion and concern that Republicans in Congress — with Trump’s encouragement — could, in a future reconciliation package, try to rescind the money that originally passed with strong bipartisan support. My staff and I will continue to monitor funding coming to California’s 18th District and work to prevent any unlawful withholding of federal funding for our communities.”
Last week, Lofgren and Panetta shared a joint statement praising the environmental benefits of the grant.
“As the threat of climate change becomes more severe, it is important to make investments that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the environment,” Lofgren and Panetta said. “Thanks to this federal funding, the City of Santa Cruz will be able to increase access to EV charging infrastructure for residents and visitors alike. Even when there is partisan talk questioning the climate crisis, we vow to continue following sound science and supporting the allocation of federal resources for sustainable projects that boost our local economies.”
In an updated comment shared Tuesday, Panetta also pledged to fight any effort to block funding previously promised by Congress.
“An overwhelming bipartisan majority in Congress recognized the need to build out our nation’s infrastructure, including EV charging stations, when we passed into law the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” said Panetta. “Fortunately, Congress has the power of the purse in the federal government and a change of Administration doesn’t change that fact. Together, we will continue to fight back against any attempts to withhold federal funding and I will continue my fight for federal investment in our home.”
Executive orders aside, Wise-West confirmed that the project is a multiyear effort and “while the grant award has been announced, we have not yet received the contract from the federal government. It is anticipated these EV chargers won’t likely be installed for another two to three years.”
According to the electric vehicle charging station mapping website PlugShare, there are already 117 charging stations in Santa Cruz, 71 in Watsonville, 36 in Capitola and Scotts Valley has 26.
The same day he signed the “Unleashing American Energy” order, Trump approved another executive order directing the U.S. to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, echoing a similar instruction issued when he was first elected in 2016. The 2015 international climate pact has a goal of limiting long-term global warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1.5 degrees Celsius, above pre-industrial levels.
Earlier this month, weather monitoring agencies reported that 2024 was Earth’s hottest year ever recorded. Four international weather agencies reported that the Earth surpassed the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal for the first time for an entire year.