The Simpsons show up in a judge’s ruling — and it’s aimed at Donald Trump
A judge has quoted The Simpsons in a ruling against Donald Trump.
A judge has quoted The Simpsons in a ruling against Donald Trump—and it wasn’t Ralph Wiggum’s “Me fail English? That’s unpossible,” Chief Wiggum’s “I’d rather let a thousand guilty men go free than chase after them,” or Mr. Burns’ “This anonymous clan of slack-jawed troglodytes has cost me the election.”
On Tuesday, District Judge Tana Lin unfroze billions of dollars in funding for electric vehicle chargers across 14 states—money that Mr. Trump had previously withheld.
The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, established under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and signed into law by President Joe Biden in November 2021, was the source of the funds - probably a reason why Trump sought to eliminate it.
It is a federal initiative aimed at expanding the country’s EV charging network and had earmarked $5 billion to be distributed over five years to states for building out this infrastructure.
The judge referenced a Simpsons episode where Homer Simpson’s attempts to manipulate a system led to unintended consequences, drawing a parallel to the administration’s actions. Lin quoted from the TV show, writing in her ruling: “In a 1995 episode of The Simpsons, Homer must cut short a tearful goodbye with his long-lost mother after her traveling companions protest that their ‘electric van only has minutes of juice left!’"
Despite the positive decision, criticism has been fired at the decision, with a Department of Transportation Spokesperson telling NewsWeek that “Another day, another liberal judicial activist making nonsensical rulings from the bench because they hate President Trump.
“The Biden-Buttigieg NEVI program guidance was a disaster and failed miserably to deliver EV chargers. While we asses our legal options, the order does not stop our ongoing work to reform the program, so it actually works for the American people, which continues apace.”
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Trump has sitting on the political merry-go-round with his love/hate/love/hate for electric vehicles, going from literally selling Teslas on the White House lawn to ending electric car subsidies. Again, whatever way the wind blows...
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