Trump administration to review California's high-speed rail funding

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has ordered a review of California's high-speed rail project to determine if federal funding should continue.

At a news conference Thursday morning at Union Station in Los Angeles with Republican members of the state legislature, Duffy said the project has been mismanaged and will continue to cost taxpayers billions of dollars with no definitive timeline for completion.

"If California wants to continue to invest, that's fine. We in the Trump administration are going to take a look at whether this project is worthy of continual investment," Duffy said.   

Among the lawmakers present at the press conference were several who sent a letter to President Trump last week encouraging him to review the project's funding. Mr. Trump, who earlier this month called California's high-speed rail project, "the worst-managed project" he's ever seen, also targeted the project during his first term, canceling nearly $1 billion in federal funding that was later restored and increased by the Biden administration to more than $4 billion.

California high-speed rail budget, deadline overruns

The California High-Speed Rail was approved by California voters in 2008. The entire project, spanning nearly 500 miles from Los Angeles to San Francisco, was initially proposed to be completed by 2020 and cost $33 billion. Today, the cost of only the first segment of the project — a 171-mile section running from Bakersfield to Merced in the Central Valley — has ballooned to $32 billion to $35 billion with a goal to begin operations by the end of 2030, according to the California High-Speed Rail Authority.

It's estimated an additional $100 billion will be needed to complete the route from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Duffy's review is calling for a deeper look at whether $4 billion in federal funding, which was promised by the Biden administration, should remain committed to the proposed project.

"For too long, taxpayers have subsidized the massively over-budget and delayed California High-Speed Rail project," Duffy said. "President Trump is right that this project is in dire need of an investigation."

The review will also investigate if the CHSRA has complied with agreements it has signed with the federal government regarding completion deadlines. 

Protesters interrupt high-speed rail press conference

Much of the press conference was punctuated by shouting and chants from protesters and activists supporting the state's high-speed rail plans. Duffy told the demonstrators they should take their protests to Democratic lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom.

"If you want to go protest somewhere, if you want to shout at someone, go to the governor's mansion. Go talk to Democrats in the Legislature who have brought us this crappy project," Duffy said.

High-speed rail's progress, economic impact

Last month, Newsom was in Kern County to tout the beginning of the track-laying phase of the project and the completion of a key stretch of the project.

"No state in America is closer to launching high-speed rail than California," Newsom said in a prepared statement last month. "We're moving into the track-laying phase, completing structures for key segments, and laying the groundwork for a high-speed rail network."

Also last month, the CHSRA released a 2024 Economic Impact report saying the $13 billion spent on the project so far has created nearly 15,000 jobs, $8.3 billion in labor income and $21.8 billion in total economic output.

To coincide with Duffy's announcement Thursday of the high-speed rail funding review, Silicon Valley state Sen. Dave Cortese introduced a bill to commission a study on commercial and residential development opportunities along the high-speed rail corridor.

In a press release, the chair of the state Senate Transportation Committee said federal funding comprises a small fraction of the project's budget and a review will find nothing out of compliance with the project.

"Every dollar of the project is accounted for and has been thoroughly reviewed by the independent Office of the Inspector General, said Cortese in a prepared statement. "The OIG's sole focus is improving oversight and accountability of the California high-speed rail project by conducting independent, objective reviews and investigations of the High-Speed Rail Authority's planning, delivery, and operation."

A poll this month conducted by Emerson College found that 54% of Californians say the high-speed rail project is a good use of state funds.