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Trump 34 charger being dropped
Executive summary
Available reporting shows two separate threads that match “Trump 34 charger being dropped”: (A) legal developments around Donald Trump’s 34-count New York conviction and subsequent moves tied to presidential immunity and dismissals or discharges of charges (reporting notes a 34‑count conviction in Manhattan and later legal actions) [1] [2]. (B) the Trump administration’s actions to pause or halt the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) charger program and orders to pause or remove specific federal EV chargers — coverage documents official suspensions in February 2025 and later court pushbacks and guidance changes through mid‑2025 [3] [4] [5] [6]. Both strands appear in the public record but are separate stories; available sources do not connect the “34” in the legal case to the EV‑charger actions (not found in current reporting).
1. Two different stories that sound similar — criminal counts vs. charger program
The phrase “Trump 34 charger being dropped” blends two distinct narratives in the sources: the 34 felony counts from the Manhattan hush‑money case and the administration’s effort to suspend federal EV‑charger funding. The Wikipedia summary records a 34‑count New York conviction on falsifying business records and notes an “unconditional discharge” on January 10, 2025, while other outlets cover appeals and immunity arguments tied to that conviction [1] [2]. Separately, major outlets documented the Department of Transportation / FHWA directing a pause or suspension of NEVI approvals and states being told to stop spending allocated EV charger funds in early February 2025 [3] [4] [7].
2. What happened to the 34 criminal counts — convictions, discharges, and appeals
Reporting and summaries show that Trump was tried in Manhattan, convicted on all 34 counts related to falsifying business records, and later faced post‑trial litigation about the verdict and remedies. Wikipedia’s entry states he was convicted on 34 counts, with sentencing and subsequent events including an “unconditional discharge” on January 10, 2025, and ongoing appeals and legal maneuvers afterward [1]. Axios and other outlets document that Trump continued to challenge the conviction and invoked the Supreme Court’s immunity reasoning in broader appeals [2]. Channel 4’s fact check also notes many charges were dropped or altered in the post‑election legal environment, reflecting shifting legal strategy and higher‑court rulings about official‑act immunity [8].
3. What happened with the EV charger program — a federal pause and later legal pushback
Multiple outlets reported that on February 7, 2025, the FHWA and related Trump administration officials ordered an immediate suspension of approvals and told states to stop obligating NEVI funds, effectively pausing the $5 billion program established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law [3] [4] [7]. Coverage described agency memos and letters directing states to halt spending and delaying plan approvals; The Verge and The Guardian emphasize the suspension of approvals and states being told not to spend NEVI allocations [3] [4]. Business Insider and WSLS reported practical disruption on ground projects and highlighted that even some Tesla‑linked projects or other grant recipients received hold notices [7] [9].
4. How much progress had been made on chargers before the pause?
Reporting indicates the NEVI program’s rollout was slow and uneven: several outlets cite only a few dozen chargers or ports operational in the early‑to‑mid‑2025 timeframe and a large share of funds unobligated. The Guardian and other reporting point to state‑by‑state variation and modest numbers of operational ports [4]. TechCrunch and cleantech outlets later describe litigation by states and a court finding that led the administration to issue new guidance allowing states to use the $5 billion — implying the pause could not be sustained indefinitely [5] [10].
5. Legal pushback, administrative reversal, and outcomes
States and coalitions sued over the freeze of NEVI funds; TechCrunch reports the administration lost in court and subsequently issued new guidance enabling states to proceed with the $5 billion in infrastructure funds after months of withholding [5]. This sequence shows that the administration’s initial “pause” met legal resistance and that the program’s fate involved judicial and regulatory developments rather than a simple one‑time cancellation [5].
6. What the available sources do not say or directly connect
The sources do not indicate that the “34” criminal counts and the EV‑charger suspension are part of the same singular action or that a specific “charger” associated with the number 34 was “dropped.” There is no reporting in these documents that directly ties the Manhattan 34‑count matter to the NEVI pause or that a single charger called “34” was removed (not found in current reporting). If you saw a headline conflating “34” and “charger,” it likely stacks two separate stories or misreads numeric coincidence.
Bottom line: reporting supports two separate, well‑documented developments — litigation and appeals surrounding Trump’s 34‑count Manhattan conviction [1] [2] and an administration‑ordered pause and later court‑forced unfreeze of the $5 billion NEVI EV‑charger program [3] [4] [5]. Sources do not link the two into a single event (not found in current reporting).