$4B in Federal Funds Pulled From California High Speed Rail. Newsom Vows to Fight

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that his administration is cutting off federal funding for California’s high-speed rail project, following through on a long-standing pledge to end government support for the effort.

Trump has spent months threatening to revoke grants totaling roughly $4 billion that were awarded during the Obama and Biden administrations The rail line is designed to run through the Central Valley and eventually link Los Angeles and San Francisco.

“This project was Severely Overpriced, Overregulated, and NEVER DELIVERED,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Thanks to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, not a SINGLE penny in Federal Dollars will go towards this Newscum SCAM ever again.” The announcement follows a blistering report from the U.S. Department of Transportation last month, which criticized the project for “missed deadlines, budget shortfalls, and overrepresentation of projected ridership.” The report also cast doubt on the project’s ability to meet its 2033 deadline for completing the initial segment—an essential requirement for receiving federal funds.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy cited the project’s skyrocketing cost in a post on X, claiming it would require $135 billion to complete. Acting Federal Railroad Administration Director Drew Feeley also stated in a letter to state officials that California failed to uphold the terms of its federal grant agreements. The project’s current price tag stands at up to $128 billion. This is nearly four times its original $33 billion estimate.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vowed to push back, calling the decision a “gift to China.”

“Trump wants to hand China the future and abandon the Central Valley. We won’t let him,” Newsom said in a statement. “With projects like the Texas high-speed rail failing to take off, we are miles ahead of others. We’re now in the track-laying phase and building America’s only high-speed rail. California is putting all options on the table to fight this illegal action.”

“Won’t be taking advice from the guy who can’t keep planes in the sky,” Newsom added in a separate response on X to Duffy.

The move is expected to spark a prolonged legal battle and deepen tensions between Trump and Newsom, a vocal advocate for the project. California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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