$4B in federal funding for California's high-speed rail revoked

White House revokes $4B in funding for California's high-speed rail

The Trump administration has officially revoked federal funding for California's high-speed rail project.

WASHINGTON - The Trump administration says it's slamming on the brakes when it comes to California's high-speed rail project, but Gov. Gavin Newsom is saying not so fast.

Federal funds revoked

What we know:

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted to social media on Wednesday that federal officials are "pulling the plug on federal funding for this train to nowhere."

Duffy called the long-proposed transportation infrastructure connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles with a bullet train a "boondoggle" and said this was the definition of "government incompetence and possibly corruption."

"The price tag has gone from $33B to $135B with no completion date in sight," Sec. Duffy's post read.

President Trump himself posted to Truth Social, "not a single penny in federal dollars will go towards the California High-Speed Rail."

For months, the president has threatened to pull $4 billion in grants from the project. Wednesday's development with the transportation department makes those cuts official.

Last month, Sec. Duffy sent a letter to the CHSRA, accusing them of failing to meet the terms of two federal grants to complete the project. But the rail authority at the time called Duffy's accusations "misguided."

What they're saying:

Congressman Vince Fong (R) of California's 20th District, sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. His office issued a statement indicating the committee discussed the rail plan with Secretary Duffy at an oversight hearing regarding the 2026 fiscal year budget.

"Thank you, President Trump and Secretary Duffy, for pulling the plug on California’s high-speed rail nightmare and protecting taxpayers," Fong's statement read. "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."

What that infrastructure plan would look like or where DOT would instead invest its resources was not unveiled by the Republican Congressman.

Newsom responds

Gov. Newsom fired back on social media to say the president and his transportation secretary have handed China the future and that the GOP is "abandoning the Central Valley."

Newsom continued to say that California's High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has entered the track-laying phase and is already building across 171 miles. He said "50 major railway structures and 60 miles of guideway" are already completed.

California State Assemblywoman, Alexandra Macedo, who represents the Central Valley, agreed with Trump and the USDOT by saying that the state needs to "stop waiting taxpayers' monies."

"After 17 years and $14 billion spent, the high-speed fail has only managed to start construction from a field to an orchard,"

California voters first approved the project in 2008. Since then, the price tag of the project has nearly quadrupled as Sec. Duffy points out.

Overall, a little less than a quarter of the project's funding has come from the federal government. The rest has come from the state, mainly through a voter-approved bond from its cap-and-trade program.

The bottom line is Newsom will rely on the courts to battle this decision. "We will be exploring all options to fight this illegal action," he said.

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