FRESNO, Calif. — U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has announced the Federal Railroad Administration will terminate approximately $4 billion in federal funding for California’s High Speed Rail.
It comes a month after the Trump Administration threatened to pull funding as part of a 315-page report released by the Department of Transportation.
“Thanks to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, not a SINGLE penny in Federal Dollars will go towards this Newscum SCAM ever again,” President Donald Trump wrote in part on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Investigators determined the project was in default of the terms of its federal grant awards and that the project “lacked the capacity to deliver” the early operating segment by 2033.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority said last month it anticipates trains to be operating by 2030.
Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo (R-Tulare) applauded the President’s decision: “After 17 years and $14 billion spent, the high-speed fail has only managed to start construction from a field to an orchard. Not a foot of track has been laid. The state needs to stop wasting taxpayers’ monies. The high-speed rail is not salvageable. The state has higher priorities like water infrastructure and wildfire prevention – lifesaving projects that can provide well-paying jobs for skilled workers in the Central Valley.”
The original goal was to have trains rolling by 2020. The project was initially expected to cost $33 billion, but now estimates range between $89 billion and $128 billion.
California voters first approved a nearly $10 billion bond measure in 2008 to begin building the rail line connecting Los Angeles to San Francisco.
Governor Gavin Newsom slammed the decision in a statement, saying in part, “Trump wants to hand China the future and abandon the Central Valley. We won’t let him.” Newsom claims the Trump administration is illegally terminating grant agreements.
Rep. Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) fired back stating: “Thank you, President Trump and Secretary Duffy, for pulling the plug on California’s high-speed rail nightmare and protecting taxpayers. This wasteful, mismanaged project is billions over budget and years behind schedule. Now, we can finally reinvest in real infrastructure that actually delivers for Californians.”
The High-Speed Rail Authority emphasized that most of the project’s funding comes from the state. Under Governor Newsom’s current budget, the rail effort would receive $1 billion annually over the next 20 years to complete its initial operating segment.
The Trump administration and state Republicans have repeatedly called out the project for being billions of dollars over budget.
Board member Henry Perea said back in June that he was not surprised by the president’s plan to pull federal funding.
At that time, Perea said, “The Trump Administration did this the first time, and California sued. We prevailed in that lawsuit, and our funding came back during the Biden administration. We fully expect that when they pull this money, there will be more litigation out of Sacramento, but in the meantime, we will continue building.”
State Senator Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach) said “I applaud the U.S Department of Transportation for being the adult in the room and pulling the plug on the mismanaged high-speed rail project. The citizens of California did not vote for a bullet train from Merced to Bakersfield, and it’s time to accept reality, stop wasting our money, and have a serious conversation about directing funds to assist California families versus a pipe dream.”
Governor Newsom says the project is now actively building across 171 miles and has built more than 50 major railway structures, including bridges and overpasses.
