Connecticut could lose out on almost $67 million to expand its electric vehicle charging network under an executive order from President Donald Trump.

The money was already awarded under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), but the order pauses the funds for up to 90 days.

And the impact could go beyond EVs.

State leaders are worried that billions of dollars for highway and commuter rail improvements are also in jeopardy.

Instead of filling up with gas, Todd Freemon, of Westport, plugs in an electric vehicle. His Rivian truck gets up to 350 miles of range – but finding places to charge it can be a challenge.

“I took my son to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for the Texas-Michigan football game this past fall, and it was an 11-hour trip,” he said. “Probably would have been 9 1/2 hours had we not had to charge it.”

To reduce “range anxiety,” Connecticut wants to add high-speed EV chargers across the state. The federal government awarded Connecticut $66.6 million – $52 million from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program and $14.6 million in Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) grants.

Nationally, the two programs come with $7.5 billion price tag.

Hours after taking office, President Trump issued a wide-ranging executive order suspending both programs pending a 90-day review.

On the campaign trail, Trump pledged to “redirect that money for important projects like roads, bridges, dams and we will not allow it to be spent on meaningless Green New Scam ideas.”

NEVI aims to install 30,000 chargers across the country – but only about 100 charging ports are actually up and running so far, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

Connecticut Department of Transportation spokesman Josh Morgan said the agency is still assessing the impact of the president’s action.

"We’re in constant communication, just to get some clarity on what these orders really mean,” Morgan said.

The funding freeze may only be temporary. POLITICO reported that a permanent pause would violate a federal law that prevents presidents from blocking funds already appropriated by Congress.

“I don’t know what legal basis the Trump administration would have to come back and redirect that funding, or stop that funding, or slow walk that funding, short of enacting a new law to change the way that funding is distributed,” Matt Leggett, a former Republican Environment and Public Works Committee chief counsel, told POLITICO.

You could be impacted even if you don’t drive an electric vehicle.

Connecticut is slated to get billions of dollars for roads and trains from the infrastructure law and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. But it’s unclear if the new administration will claw some of that money back.

DOT has 189 projects planned over the next 4 years – totaling almost $4 billion. In Norwalk, new ramps will finally let U.S. Route 7 drivers go north on the Merritt Parkway, while the southbound Merritt will finally connect to Route 7. In Stamford, another federally-funded project is already connecting Exits 6 and 7 on Interstate 95.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is paying for 90% of the $76 million project.

But moving forward on new projects could be risky because Connecticut has to spend the money first, then get reimbursed later.

“A lot of the federal programs are reimbursements, so we put up the money and then they cut us a check on the back end,” Morgan said. “So no, we haven’t spent that money. And again, we’re just waiting to see how the orders are being interpreted.”

Trump also rescinded former President Joe Biden’s goal of making half of all new vehicle sales electric by 2030. Gov. Ned Lamont abandoned a similar mandate amid cost concerns from drivers.

In Connecticut, 10% of all registered cars were electric in 2023, according to Atlas Public Policy.

You can get up to $12,500 in state and federal tax credits to purchase an EV. For now, the federal rebates remain in place, but Trump has pledged to eliminate them.

Freemon thinks the administration’s move will backfire.

“I think it’s a huge mistake personally,” he said. “Because just like with solar panels, if we are not doing this in America, then they're going to do it in China.”

He believes funding cuts may slow EV adoption, but not stop it.

“It would have some impact, no doubt,” Freemon said. “But I think that the battery technology will come along as well, so the battery ranges will get longer.”