WASHINGTON—The Trump administration said on Thursday, May 16, it was formally canceling $929 million in previously awarded funding for California’s high-speed rail program after rejecting an appeal by the state.
The U.S. railway regulator, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), said on Thursday it had canceled the funding awarded in a 2010 agreement after it said the state had “repeatedly failed to comply” and “failed to make reasonable progress on the project.”
In a statement, the FRA said it was still considering “all options” on seeking the return of $2.5 billion in federal funds the state has already received.
BREAKING: The Federal Railroad Administration has notified California its ENDING its high speed rail agreement, clawing back crucial $ for project pic.twitter.com/WPhn6hIZ0g
— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) May 16, 2019
The decision is the latest salvo in an ongoing battle between the administration of President Donald Trump and California over a series of issues including immigration, vehicle emissions standards, and internet policy.
California has repeatedly sued the Trump administration and officials expect the state will sue over the rescinding of rail funding.
The Trump administration moved to end funding after California Governor Gavin Newsom said in February the state would scale back the planned $77.3 billion high-speed rail project after cost hikes, delays, and management concerns, but would finish a smaller section.
In a statement on Thursday, Newsom vowed to go to court to protect “California’s money, appropriated by Congress.”
JUST IN: Governor Newsom says CA will defend money in court after Feds cancel High Speed Rail $:
“The Trump Administration’s action is illegal and a direct assault on California, our green infrastructure, and the thousands of Central Valley workers who are building this project. pic.twitter.com/FoZdBERE42
— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) May 16, 2019
The traffic-choked state had planned to build a 520-mile system in the first phase that would allow trains to travel at up to 220 mph from Los Angeles to San Francisco and begin full operations by 2033.
Newsom said in February the state would instead complete a 119-mile high-speed link between Merced and Bakersfield in the state’s Central Valley.
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who overseas FRA, in February said California’s drastically scaled back rail project “is a classic example of bait and switch… We have a right to ask for that $2.5 billion back as well.”
The Obama administration awarded California $3.5 billion in 2010 and California voters in 2008 approved nearly $10 billion in bond proceeds.
In March 2018, the state forecast project costs had jumped $13 billion to $77 billion and warned costs could be as much as $98.1 billion.
The $77 billion bullet train project has long been a subject of criticism by the Trump administration and the Republican Party. Trump earlier compared the high costs of the “failed fast train project” to his wall along the U.S.–Mexico border where he said the train was “hundreds of times more expensive than the desperately needed Wall!”
The failed Fast Train project in California, where the cost overruns are becoming world record setting, is hundreds of times more expensive than the desperately needed Wall!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2019
By David Shepardson. Epoch Times reporter Bowen Xiao contributed to this report.
