alifornia’s troubled high-speed rail project has experienced a significant blow following Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s decision to cancel $4 billion in remaining federal funding through the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
After pointing to 16 years of unsuccessful efforts, the absence of any completed high-speed track, and rising expenses, Duffy characterized the project as a poorly managed and over-budget “boondoggle,” calling it the “train to nowhere.”
“This is California’s fault. Governor Newsom and the complicit Democrats have enabled this waste for years. Federal dollars are not a blank check – they come with a promise to deliver results,” Duffy said in a statement.
The decision came after months of examination following a thorough compliance assessment, along with unsuccessful efforts by the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) to resolve significant project problems.
“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. It’s time for this boondoggle to die. President Trump and I will always fight to ensure your tax dollars only go to projects that accomplish great, big, beautiful things.” – Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy
The assessment revealed that no miles of high-speed track have been constructed since construction began a decade ago, while expenses continue to grow.
President Donald Trump, sharing Duffy’s view, also called the project a “boondoggle.”
“To the Law abiding, Tax paying, Hardworking Citizens of the United States of America, I am thrilled to announce that I have officially freed you from funding California’s disastrously overpriced, “HIGH SPEED TRAIN TO NOWHERE,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“This boondoggle, led by the incompetent Governor of California, Gavin Newscum, has cost Taxpayers Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we have received NOTHING in return except Cost Overruns. The Railroad we were promised still does not exist, and never will,” Trump continued.
“This project was Severely Overpriced, Overregulated, and NEVER DELIVERED. Thanks to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, not a SINGLE penny in Federal Dollars will go towards this Newscum SCAM ever again. This was an ill-conceived and unnecessary project, and a total waste of Taxpayer money — But no more!”
Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., who authored H.R. 213, legislation aimed at preventing additional federal funding for High-Speed Rail, praised the action.
“California High-Speed Rail is the worst public infrastructure disaster in U.S. history,” Kiley said.
“A project that was supposed to be finished five years ago at a cost of $33 billion is now projected to take until the end of the century at a cost of $130 billion. I am grateful that President Trump and Secretary Duffy are sparing our taxpayers by cutting off federal funding. The state must now follow suit, wind this disastrous project down, and spend our transportation dollars where they are needed: our roads.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized Duffy on X, stating he would seek guidance from others rather than the transportation secretary.
“Won’t be taking advice from the guy who can’t keep planes in the sky,” Newsom wrote.
Newsom’s office also issued a statement responding to the “Trump administration illegally terminating federal grant agreements funding California high-speed rail.”
“Trump wants to hand China the future and abandon the Central Valley. We won’t let him. With projects like the Texas high-speed rail failing to take off, we are miles ahead of others,” Newsom wrote.
