“The Federal Railroad Administration stated that all work performed by the Authority – whether undertaken as part of cooperative agreements or otherwise – remains ‘at risk’ and may not receive funding,” a rail spokesperson said. “Combined with the Administration’s persistent lack of good-faith engagement, this made clear that the federal government is unlikely to uphold its commitments to California. As a result, the State has opted to move forward without the Trump administration. We regret that they will not share in California’s success.”
California has said that it will drop a lawsuit seeking to hold the Trump administration accountable for its decision to slash roughly $4 billion in federal funding for the state’s planned high-speed rail project.
According to FOX Business, California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office filed a legal notice on December 23 requesting that the case be dismissed without prejudice. Filed on behalf of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, or CHSRA, the lawsuit asked a federal court to compel the Trump administration to release the previously-promised funds.
In a statement, a spokesperson for CHSRA indicated that California no longer believes that it can work constructively with the federal government.
“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,” the agency told FOX Business.
“The Federal Railroad Administration stated that all work performed by the Authority – whether undertaken as part of cooperative agreements or otherwise – remains ‘at risk’ and may not receive funding,” the spokesperson said. “Combined with the Administration’s persistent lack of good-faith engagement, this made clear that the federal government is unlikely to uphold its commitments to California. As a result, the State has opted to move forward without the Trump administration. We regret that they will not share in California’s success.”
The federal government, in contrast, blames California for proposing and pursuing a “boondoggle” of a project. Falling back on the Trump administration’s propensity for heavy-handed and politically-charged rhetoric, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that the state bears all blame for the failed project.
“This is California’s fault. Governor Newsom and the complicit Democrats have enabled this waste for years,” Duffy said. “Federal dollars are not a blank check — they come with a promise to deliver results. After over a decade of failures, CHSRA’s mismanagement and incompetence has proven it cannot build its train to nowhere on time or on budget.”
CHSRA has explained some of the delay by saying that the state has had to endure ballooning costs and major changes to some of its orders. In the absence of federal funding, the state is now looking to capture the attention of private investors.
“Interest from the private sector in investing in California’s high-speed rail project is strong and continues to grow,” said CHSRA CEO Ian Choudri.
A spokesperson for the CHSRA told FOX Business that the loss of federal funding is not expected to further derail or delay the project, as most funding is sourced in-state from the voter-approved Cap-and-Invest program.
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