California’s high-speed rail dream just hit a major roadblock. The Trump administration canceled over $4 billion in federal funding, calling the project a failure, and now Gov. Gavin Newsom is taking the fight to court.
Key Facts:
- President Trump’s administration canceled more than $4 billion in federal funds for California’s high-speed rail project.
- Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a lawsuit, calling the move “petty, political retribution.”
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy cited years of failure, zero track laid, and ballooning costs as reasons for the termination.
- The Federal Railroad Administration released a 300-page review citing chronic mismanagement and cost overruns.
- Trump called the project a “boondoggle” and said taxpayers had “received NOTHING in return.”
The Rest of The Story:
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a lawsuit against the Trump administration after it revoked over $4 billion in federal funds meant for California’s high-speed rail.
Newsom accused the administration of using the project as a political target, saying it was a “heartless attack on the Central Valley.”
The lawsuit alleges that the cancellation was politically motivated and illegal.
However, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy defended the decision, pointing to the rail authority’s poor performance.
“This is California’s fault,” Duffy said. “Federal dollars are not a blank check—they come with a promise to deliver results.”
OMG THANK YOU!
The high-speed rail to nowhere has been an eyesore here in the central valley for too many years. They destroyed farmland for this money laundering scheme. Unfinished bridges scattered across the valley. No tracks for the imaginary train. pic.twitter.com/z9x3OFWMkp— Laura Weber (@LauraWe40146126) July 17, 2025
A compliance review by the Federal Railroad Administration revealed a decade of dysfunction.
Despite breaking ground ten years ago, the project had not completed a single mile of high-speed track.
The report cited cost overruns, delays, contract issues, and inflated ridership estimates.
President Trump celebrated the decision on Truth Social, claiming victory for taxpayers.
He accused Gov. Newsom of overseeing a “Newscum SCAM” that wasted federal funds and never delivered on its promises.
Newsom, however, said California was “in the track-laying phase” and “building America’s only high-speed rail.”
Commentary:
This is a welcome and long-overdue move by the Trump administration.
California’s so-called bullet train has turned into the poster child for government waste.
After over a decade and billions spent, there’s still not a single mile of high-speed rail.
That’s not progress—it’s failure.
The project was sold as a modern marvel, a sleek connection between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Instead, it’s a bloated public works fantasy with a price tag approaching $100 billion, with no functioning service to show for it.
Even the state’s own reports show that the promised ridership and timelines were pipe dreams.
California’s leadership—Newsom included—ignored every warning. They continued to pour tax dollars into the project even as costs spiraled and deadlines evaporated.
It became less about transportation and more about political pride.
Secretary Duffy and President Trump are right to end this madness. Federal money should support success, not prop up failure.
Americans outside California shouldn’t be forced to subsidize a state’s inability to manage its infrastructure.
As for the lawsuit, it’s hard to see it succeeding.
The administration has clear justification—years of broken promises and mismanagement.
Newsom’s complaint of “retribution” sounds more like a smokescreen than a legal argument.
Sadly, California will now spend even more taxpayer money in court rather than admitting the obvious: this project is a failure.
And the longer it lingers, the more it bleeds resources that could be spent on roads, water systems, or wildfire prevention.
Killing this bullet train may be one of the most fiscally responsible moves of Trump’s presidency.
It sends a message—there are consequences for wasting federal dollars.
The Bottom Line:
The Trump administration has ended federal funding for California’s long-stalled high-speed rail, citing chronic failure and waste.
Newsom’s lawsuit is unlikely to rescue a project plagued by mismanagement for over a decade.
Taxpayers deserve better.
And for once, Washington said enough is enough.
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