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Wendell Cox, senior fellow at Unleash Prosperity, discusses the Trump administration’s withdrawal of $4 billion in federal funds for California’s high-speed rail project on “The Bottom Line.”
California dropped its lawsuit against the Trump administration after withdrawing about $4 billion in federal funding for the state’s high-speed rail project.
Court records show that California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office filed a notice on Dec. 23 voluntarily dismissing the lawsuit without prejudice on behalf of the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA), which was seeking to restore federal funding.
“This action reflects the state’s assessment that the federal government is not a reliable, constructive, or trustworthy partner in advancing high-speed rail in California,” an authority spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“The Federal Railroad Administration has stated that all work performed by the Authority – whether undertaken under cooperative agreements or otherwise – remains “at risk” and may not receive funding. Combined with the Administration’s continued lack of good faith engagement, this makes it clear that the federal government is unlikely to follow through on its commitments to California.
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Work continues on the California High-Speed Rail Hanford Viaduct in Hanford, California on Tuesday, January 29, 2024. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy announced in July that it was pulling the plug on the long-delayed project, calling it a “mess.”
“It is California’s fault. Governor Newsom and complicit Democrats have enabled this waste for years. Federal dollars are not a blank check: they come with a promise of results. After more than a decade of failures, CHSRA’s mismanagement and incompetence have proven that it cannot build its train to nowhere, on time and on budget,” Duffy said.
President Donald Trump echoed Duffy’s sentiment at the time, calling the project a “bullet train to nowhere.”
In a letter at CHSRA, the Federal Railroad Administration said it was withdrawing federal funding, about $4 billion in commitments, after concluding the project could not be completed as promised.
Work continues on the California High-Speed Rail Hanford Viaduct in Hanford, California on Tuesday, January 29, 2024. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The agency cited increasing delays and skyrocketing costsincluding major change orders, saying substantial federal funds had already been spent despite the authority’s failure to meet key milestones.
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CHSRA launched a formal process on December 19 to attract private investors and developers by summer 2026 as part of efforts to deliver the high-speed rail project “faster, smarter and more cost-effectively.”
“Private sector interest in investing in California’s high-speed rail project is strong and continues to grow,” said Ian Choudri, CEO of CHSRA.
FOX Business correspondent Max Gorden discusses California leaders’ efforts to build a high-speed rail system on “Varney & Co.”
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“Today’s acquisition formalizes partnership efforts with private investors and developers, with the common goal of delivering California’s transformation agenda faster, smarter and more cost-effectively,” he said. “By leveraging private sector innovation and best practices and strong, stable public funding, we can maximize the value of California’s investment and accelerate the implementation of high-speed infrastructure throughout the state. »
In a press releaseCHSRA said 171 miles of the project are under design and construction between Merced and Bakersfield, with nearly 80 miles of guideway completed and dozens of major structures fully completed.
A spokesperson for the authority told Fox News Digital that the loss of federal funding would not derail the project or construction because most of the funding comes from the state through voter-approved Proposition 1A and the Cap-and-Invest program. The spokesperson said federal dollars make up about 18 percent of the program’s total spending and the state is moving forward without them.
