Trump rescinds $4 billion in US funding for California High-Speed Rail project

Donald Trump said on Wednesday the Transportation Department is rescinding $4 billion in U.S. government funding for California's High-Speed Rail project.

"This project was severely overpriced, overrregulated, and never delivered," Trump said in a social media post. "The railroad we were promised still does not exist and never will."

In a separate statement from Trump's, the department said there was no viable path forward for the High-Speed Rail project and it was considering potentially clawing back additional funding related to the project, calling it "grossly over budget."

California officials called the action illegal. This is the latest in a series of clashes between Trump and California, including over transgender athletes, electric vehicle rules, the use of National Guard troops in Los Angeles and even over egg prices.

"California is putting all options on the table to fight this illegal action," California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement.

The Federal Railroad Administration issued a 315-page report last month citing missed deadlines, budget shortfalls and questionable ridership projections.

Key issues cited include that California had not identified $7 billion in additional funding needed to build an initial 171-mile segment between Merced and Bakersfield and the project has not begun laying track.

The California High-Speed Rail System is a planned two-phase 800-mile (1,287 km) system with speeds of up to 220 miles per hour that aims to connect San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim, and in the second phase, extend north to Sacramento and south to San Diego.

The entire San Francisco-to-Los Angeles project was initially supposed to be completed by 2020 for $33 billion, but has now jumped from $89 billion to $128 billion.

"Canceling these grants without cause isn’t just wrong — it’s illegal," said California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri. "These are legally binding agreements, and the Authority has met every obligation ... This is no time for Washington to walk away on America's transportation future.”

The authority added the project "is fast approaching the track-laying phase, with 171 miles under active construction and design, 15,500 jobs created, and more than 50 major structures completed."

Newsom currently has a budget proposal before the legislature to extend at least $1 billion per year in funding for the next 20 years "providing the necessary resources to complete the project’s initial operating segment."

In a post on social media platform X, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said "Newsom and California's high-speed rail boondoggle are the definition of government incompetence and possibly corruption."

Newsom responded to the post, "Won't be taking advice from the guy who can't keep planes in the sky."

Voters approved $10 billion for the project in 2008. The Transportation Department under former President Joe Biden awarded the project about $4 billion.

In 2021, Biden restored a $929 million grant for California's high-speed rail that Trump had revoked in 2019 after the Republican president called the project a "disaster" and the state successfully sued.

Trump is an animal but he isn’t wrong on this. This construction still hasn’t started with no end date in site. It’s a colossal failure of management.

[quote]Newsom responded to the post, "Won't be taking advice from the guy who can't keep planes in the sky."

R2 What you are saying in spirit isn’t wrong, but there is plenty of construction that has been done.

These projects are tough without powerful central authority. The state governments in the US are too bound by private contractors, private landowners, and partisan sabotage. China wouldn’t put up with people bitching about getting kicked out of their house for a second, but they also compensate those people handsomely.

r2 is also:

*Birthright Citizenship*

[quote]Where do you stand. I definitely think it should stay— just because of the complicated history of race in this country. However there is one key way to prevent this— make it a serious federal crime to give birth here as an undocumented person. I know what some are going to say. It will cause havoc or increase death rates from pregnancy. We must do something about because it is a thing. You cannot come here illegally and then add to the population. The rich Chinese and Arabs will stop doing so asap and Mexicans will get some fucking birth control until they get citizenship.

R6 yes I am. Your point? You losers who I guess are retired and home all day to track people’s post are really exhausting.

How about the monorail at Disneyland?

I mean, hopefully this will light a fire under Gavin Newsom to get the project finished.

But I really don't see it happening.

I have a feeling that a lot of contractors are getting very, very rich off of this project, and they don't want to see the gravy train end.

Now that they are on Trump's radar, it might "motivate" them to do some actual work.

But again, I really don't think it's going to happen.

When people talk about Federal "Pork" Projects, this pig has fed the contractors for nearly two decades. Why would they want that to end?

OP pink is not your color hon

If there was any money to be made on operating such a train, a company would have built it.

A stopped clock and all…

Twice a day-no more…

[quote] Delaware-based Ameristar Rail said it would use existing infrastructure owned by Amtrak and other regional rail lines passing through major cities like Kansas City, Chicago and Philadelphia rather than launch a massive and costly new public project.

[quote] It would be funded by private investors — not taxpayers — and would carry vehicles as well as passengers, modeled after Europe’s truck transport trains, Ameristar said.

R14 That would be awesome. But no one will want to pay for it. Because the zeitgeist of culture is so anti-tax these big projects which would be beneficial to society and the economy in the long run will be gridlocked in red tape.

Which decade did Western Europe get high speed rail?

R15 Then have the fares repay residents with a dividend over a fixed period of time.

I’d rather fly 90 mins.