Colorado faces a sudden withdrawal of $109 million in federal transportation and clean energy funding, as the Trump administration moves to cancel projects focused on electric vehicles, EV infrastructure, and rail improvements, including research into hydrogen and natural gas-powered trains.
The U.S. Department of Transportation confirmed that five projects across Colorado are affected. Among them, $11.7 million was designated for Fort Collins to electrify its municipal vehicle fleet and expand EV charging infrastructure, while another $11.7 million was set aside for Colorado State University Pueblo to explore powering rail vehicles with hydrogen and natural gas. The Colorado Department of Transportation had received $66.4 million for rail upgrades, including installation of positive train control, a safety system designed to prevent collisions caused by operator error. Additional funds of $8.34 million were earmarked to support maintenance of up to 363 EV chargers statewide, and $10.7 million was to construct a transit station and roundabout in Fort Collins as part of a bus-rapid-transit initiative.
USDOT spokesperson Danna Almeida said the cancellations reflect a misalignment with the administration’s “America First” agenda or redundancies in project objectives. The pullback has drawn immediate criticism from state officials. Governor Jared Polis condemned the decision, emphasizing the safety and economic implications. “Pulling critical transportation infrastructure funding makes our freight rail corridors, which are critical to commerce, less safe,” Polis said.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, a Democrat, is pursuing legal action to restore funding for clean energy initiatives. Weiser has filed lawsuits targeting the cancellation of grants under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Program and the Electric Vehicle Charger Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator Program, noting that the cancelled EV charging grants are part of the latter. According to his office, the Trump administration has “quietly refused” to approve new funding under these programs.
Lawrence Pacheco, spokesperson for the attorney general, said the Department of Law is reviewing all options to challenge the federal move. The cancellations are part of a broader trend of federal funding clawbacks affecting Colorado, many of which face legal challenges from Democratic leaders.
