by In a retaliatory statement on Monday, the California High-Speed Rail Authority claimed that the Trump administration’s plan to cancel $4 billion in grants for the state’s bullet train project was founded on false information, out-of-date data, and faulty research.
After claiming that a compliance check of its funds revealed that the state had incurred expensive change orders on its contracts, drastically lowered ridership predictions, and missed deadlines, the U.S. Transportation Department recommended the funding cutoff. It stated that there was no practical way to finish the first segment by the funding deadline of 2033.
A lawsuit that may take years to settle is almost guaranteed to result from the grant termination, which is one of the biggest government funding revocations in history. It coincides with a long-running political feud between President Trump and Governor Gavin Newsom, as well as a tense relationship between the federal government and the biggest state in the country.
California officials responded formally on Monday to the federal government’s claim that the state had failed to complete the project, stating that it would meet the 2033 deadline for limited passenger operations in the Central Valley and that it was in compliance with federal grant requirements.
Ian Choudri, the chief executive of the California Rail Authority, said in the state’s response that the state is in compliance and that the federal government completely contradicts its findings.
Two government grants—one worth $928 million from the Obama administration in 2010 and the other worth $3.1 billion from the leaving Biden administration in 2024—are covered by the planned termination.
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