President Donald Trump and his staff did good things about their threats on Wednesday. The Federal Railroad Administration has terminated $4 billion in federal funds primarily for a high-speed rail project designed to connect the state’s “mega-regions” to the Los Angeles Basin.
Shortly after President Trump said on social media that his administration was pulling plugs on the project, Transport Secretary Sean P. Duffy made the announcement Wednesday, calling it “nowhere.”
“The railroad we promised to be, and never exists,” Trump said in the Truth Society. “The project was terrible, over-regulated and never delivered.”
Duffy reflected Trump’s message, pointing to costs and long-term processes, saying that California’s High Speed Railroad Agency (CHSRA) spent $15 billion over 16 years.
“After more than a decade of failure, Chsra’s mismanagement and incompetence proved that they could not build trains anywhere within their time or budget,” Duffy said in a statement. “It’s time for this boondoggle to die.”
The announcement comes more than a month after Secretary Duffy claimed the project had a “workable path” that would be made within or within budget.
Railway authorities inspectors also confirmed that it is “impossible” for the project to meet the 2033 deadline, especially among other reasons, due to funding gaps and construction delays.
Ian Choudri, who was appointed CEO of the California High Speed Railroad Bureau last year, suggested that the project could seek private funds if California agrees to pay off investigators.
In response to the announcement, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the end of federal funds was “Trump’s latest gift to China.”
“Trump wants to pass China on its future and abandon the central valley. We won’t allow him,” Newsom said in a statement. “We’re miles ahead of everyone else because projects like the Texas high-speed rail are failing to take off.”
Newsom said the project is moving forward despite criticism as it approaches the “track railing phase” in which 15,500 jobs were created.
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