by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:55 AM ET, Thu June 5, 2025
The U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy released a large-scale review of the California High-Speed Rail Authority project, threatening to pull billions in already allocated funding for the project.
In February, President Trump took aim at the long-delayed project, which was originally approved in 2008, claiming it was “billions and billions, hundreds of billions of dollars over budget.”
According to the Transportation Department’s report, the rail authority in charge of the construction of the project has up to 37 days to respond and defend itself, after which the grants, which total some $4 billion, could be terminated.
The project is accused of mismanaging funds, project delays, waste and skyrocketing costs.
“I promised the American people we would be good stewards of their hard-earned tax dollars,” said Secretary Duffy. “This report exposes a cold, hard truth: CHSRA has no viable path to complete this project on time or on budget. CHSRA is on notice — If they can’t deliver on their end of the deal, it could soon be time for these funds to flow to other projects that can achieve President Trump’s vision of building great, big, beautiful things again. Our country deserves high-speed rail that makes us proud – not boondoogle [sic] trains to nowhere.”
While high-speed rail is common elsewhere in the world, from Japan to Europe, the United States’ first high-speed rail was expected to pave the way for future sustainable rail infrastructure.
However, The Guardian reports that in the seventeen years’ time since the project’s approval, the estimated cost has ballooned from $33 billion to over $100 billion and has been frustrated by delays, rising costs and buying right-of-way to construct the rail system. The first tracks for a shortened section of the project are just beginning to be laid.
This isn’t the first time the Trump Administration has taken aim at California’s high-speed rail project: in 2019, during Trump’s first term, he canceled nearly $1 billion in funding for it, which Biden later restored, allocating another $3.3 billion to it. Still, California is footing the majority of the project itself.
Democrats, especially those in California, called out Trump’s actions as punishment for the state not voting for Trump during the 2016 presidential election.
“No state in America is closer to launching high-speed rail than California,” said California Governor Gavin Newsom, which The Guardian reported. “We’re moving into the track-laying phase, completing structures for key segments and laying the groundwork for a high-speed rail network.”
Two senators from California issued a joint statement after the review was announced on June 4.
Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) wrote: “In Donald Trump’s corrupt world, there’s no need for high-speed rail when you can accept a $400 million jet from a foreign government. But for the millions of Californians left to pick up the tab for Trump’s reckless trade wars and rising costs of living, today’s announcement is devastating.”
“High-speed rail is the future of transportation — with the potential to bring customers to new businesses, businesses to new employees, and to connect communities hundreds of miles away with affordable and faster transit. The fact is that the California High-Speed Rail Project is already the most audited public works project in the country. Rather than advance the progress being made in the Central Valley, Secretary Duffy has used a review process to appease President Trump and punish Californians who didn’t vote for him. We’ll keep fighting every partisan, self-defeating policy of this Administration as we build infrastructure fit for the 21st century.”
A new poll conducted by Politico and UC Berkeley asked Californians what they thought about the high-speed rail project. Over a thousand Californians took part in the poll.
The majority, at 67 percent, supported the project, while the remaining third did not. While Democrats and Independents had a more positive view of the project, 42 percent of Republicans also supported the project, despite their leadership’s issues with the project.
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