The Trump administration is rescinding federal funding to build electric vehicle chargers, leaving in doubt $4 million for Maine to build out a network, though a larger sum from Washington is unaffected, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation said Friday.

Federal transportation officials are taking aim at the National Vehicle Infrastructure program, a Biden administration initiative that financed up to 80% of eligible project costs, including the acquisition, installation and network connection of EV chargers. In all, a $5 billion program to build chargers on highways nationwide was halted by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“The new leadership of the Department of Transportation has decided to review the policies underlying the implementation of the NEVI Formula Program,” said a memo from the agency on Thursday. “Accordingly, the current NEVI Formula Program Guidance dated June 11, 2024, and all prior versions of this guidance are rescinded.”

A U.S. Department of Transportation spokesperson said in an email the agency is “utilizing the unique authority afforded under the NEVI Formula Program to ensure the program operates efficiently and effectively and aligns with current U.S. DOT policies and priorities.”

No new funding may be obligated, but reimbursement of obligations already made will continue to avoid disrupting financial commitments, according to the statement.

Paul Merrill, the spokesman for the Maine Department of Transportation, said in an email that the federal directive does not have an impact on $15 million in funding from the program that has been obligated to install EV chargers around Maine.

Thirteen charging station sites have been selected, with decisions on further sites pending, he said. The selected sites include two in Bangor, two in Portland and one each in Augusta, Bridgton, Brunswick, Ellsworth, Newport, Rockland, Rumford, Searsport and Windham. The stations in Augusta and Rockland are operating, while the others are “in various stages of construction.”

MaineDOT has yet to obligate about $4 million from the vehicle infrastructure program for the 2026 budget year. “We will await further guidance from U.S. DOT regarding future NEVI funding,” Merrill said.

Gov. Janet Mills announced last June that the state will add 52 high-speed electric vehicle charging stations at 17 locations in the following year, with many in rural areas. The fast-charging stations can power an EV from empty to 80% in 20 minutes to 1 hour. They’re intended to expand Maine’s charging network along major highways such as Interstate 95, U.S. Route 2, U.S. Route 302 and areas of Portland and Bangor.

NEVI funding accounted for part of the nearly $8.6 million project, with money also from the Governor’s Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan and a settlement from the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission project.

Transportation is responsible for 49% of Maine’s carbon emissions from fossil fuels, making the sector one of the state’s largest opportunities to combat climate change, according to Maine Won’t Wait, the state’s climate plan.

Broadening the use of electric vehicles in Maine has been a charged political issue, due partly to criticism from Republicans in the Legislature, car dealers and others that Maine is years from building out a network of chargers, particularly in the state’s rural areas. So-called “range anxiety” that electric vehicles will lose their charge is similar to the fear of running out of gas in a conventional vehicle.

A group of Maine environmentalists and a youth organization have sued the state, accusing officials of failing to comply with targets for reduced greenhouse gas emissions by not adopting policies broadening EV use.

President Donald Trump’s action against the chargers is part of a broader policy of favoring fossil fuel production and halting zero-carbon initiatives such as offshore wind power. An executive order he issued last month jeopardizes Maine’s efforts to develop an offshore wind presence in the Gulf of Maine and build a wind port terminal on Sears Island.