Trump is disabling all 8,000 electric vehicle chargers located at federal government facilities.

      The Trump administration stated that electric vehicles are "not mission critical," and has mandated the shutdown of all EV chargers at federal buildings across the country, along with the removal of newly acquired EVs. This decision follows a pause on previously committed funding for EV infrastructure.

      The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is the federal body in charge of contracts and procurement related to the government's real estate, IT, products, and equipment, including vehicles. According to The Verge, the GSA oversees several hundred charging stations, translating to around 8,000 charging ports nationwide, all of which are now set to be disabled.

      “GSA has been aligning with the current administration and has received guidance that all GSA-owned charging stations are not considered mission critical,” read an agency email obtained by The Verge. “Government-owned vehicles and privately owned vehicles will no longer be able to charge at these stations once they are no longer operational.”

      These charging stations were available for both government-issued EVs and those owned by federal employees. An internal announcement regarding this matter is expected next week, although some federal offices have already received instructions to deactivate their chargers.

      The GSA’s Electrify the Fleet webpage is also offline, but an archived version can be accessed through the Wayback Machine. The agency's blogs related to electrification remain available for searching (at least for now), including one highlighting the advantages of electric vehicles.

      The Verge notes that under the Biden administration, the transition from gas-powered vehicles to electric options was underway. The GSA manages a fleet of around 650,000 vehicles, with plans for more than half to be replaced by electric models.

      In a press release from March 2024, the GSA reported that over 58,000 zero-emission vehicles had been ordered and that the installation of more than 25,000 new charging ports had commenced. However, it remains unclear how many zero-emission vehicles were actually delivered or how many chargers were installed since then.

      It is uncertain what will happen to the deactivated EV chargers or the recently acquired electric vehicles. Although they will be removed from the fleet, whether they will be sold or merely stored is still unknown. Additionally, will they be replaced by gas-powered vehicles? If so, will these be older models or new ones requiring further agency funding? Might hybrids be an option now that gas prices are rising again?

      Another concern is whether other federal agencies will follow this example. The Verge indicates that many of these agencies utilize the EV chargers managed by the GSA. If those are unavailable, where can federal, law enforcement, or military electric vehicles charge?

      The GSA’s website opens with its motto: “Delivering effective and efficient government services for the American people." However, with the loss of 8,000 charging stations for thousands of existing government-issued electric vehicles—potentially leaving them stranded or incurring higher costs—the GSA appears to be doing the opposite.