Fact Check: Does Donald Trump plan to remove EV charging stations from federal buildings?

WASHINGTON, DC: Since President Donald Trump took office in January, he has taken several decisions and signed executive orders that raised eyebrows and also made people criticize the POTUS. However, amid all this, many rumors also circulated online which turned out to be fake

Recently, an online rumor claimed that Donald Trump directed the General Services Administration (GSA) to shut down its electric vehicle charging stations. But is there any truth to this? Let us find out below.

Claim: Donald Trump plans to remove EV charging stations from federal buildings

In late February, a few websites claimed that President Donald Trump directed the General Services Administration, which manages federal buildings, to shut down its electric vehicle charging stations.

The claim soon went viral across multiple social media platforms, including X, Reddit, and others.

An X user shared the link of the news and wrote, "The war on electric vehicles continues: Trump has ordered the General Services Admin to permanently disconnect/remove federal EV chargers at its buildings. Now workers can't charge their cars onsite, nor can the public. Or EVs in the govt fleet."

A Reddit user posted, "Trump to shut down all 8,000 EV charging ports at federal govt buildings."

Similarly, a user on Bluesky shared the news and mentioned, "Not the biggest outrage of the last 3 weeks, or even last 3 days. But on what planet is it "efficient" or in taxpayer interest to shut down *already installed* EV chargers? The Trump Admin continues to cede leadership to China and harm US industry and consumers."

No credible evidence to back the claim

Notably, there is no credible evidence to back the claim that Donald Trump plans to remove EV charging stations from federal buildings, according to Snopes.

Colorado Public Radio reported on February 20 that EV chargers at the Denver Federal Center would "likely soon be shut down" after reviewing an internal email from "multiple sources," per the fact-checking outlet.

As per their report, the email read, "As GSA has worked to align with the current administration, we have received direction that all GSA-owned charging stations are not mission critical."

Interestingly, other websites such as Inside Climate News and The Verge, also reported that they reviewed the internal email and published articles with headlines that claimed the president wanted to "disconnect" and "shut down" the GSA's EV charging stations.

Notably, Snopes reached out to the GSA which said that the acting administrator of the agency issued a memo this January ordering the "temporary suspension of all new GSA obligations."

It includes federal fleet orders of zero-emission vehicles. However, the GSA did not confirm that it would remove charging stations, per the outlet.

GSA's acting press secretary, Will Powell's statement read, "On January 24, 2025, the GSA Acting Administrator and Deputy Administrator issued a memorandum directing the temporary suspension of all new GSA obligations, including new awards, task and delivery orders, and modifications and options, with limited exceptions."

The statement added, "This temporary suspension includes federal fleet orders of zero emission vehicles. GSA is also working with our agency partners to confirm installed Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE), or EVSE related projects still in planning/execution phases, are mission critical in nature and in support of fleet EVs. At this time, no action has been taken regarding EVSE at federal buildings across the country."

Moreover, the GSA did not confirm whether it would eventually remove EV charging stations as a result of canceled contracts or immediately as a result of any order, Snopes reported.

According to the fact-checking outlet, Inside Climate News claimed a GSA employee did confirm the veracity of the email and said the chargers would "be removed".

Moreover, The Verge reported that "the official guidance instructing federal workers to begin the process of shutting down the chargers will be announced internally next week, according to a source with knowledge of the plans," as per Snopes.

To sum up, the fact-checking outlet found that although the GSA did confirm that a temporary suspension of all new GSA obligations is in place, they did not confirm it would remove or shut down EV chargers in federal buildings across the country.