The state of California has decided to throw out its lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his administration after it took in close to $4 billion in federal funding for its high-speed rail project, providing President Trump with yet another major legal victory.
Court documents reveal that California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office filed a notice on December 23, 2025, to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit without prejudice on behalf of the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA), which was working to have the money for the project reinstated.
“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,” an authority spokesperson went on to say in a statement to Fox News Digital, trying to justify Gavin Newsom’s ignominious retreat.
That spokesperson continued, “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. 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.”
As a reminder, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed back in July that he was putting a stop to the project, referring to it as a “boondoggle.” Commenting on the disastrous project that has shredded so many taxpayer dollars with nary a thing accomplished, said, “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. 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.”
According to Fox Business, President Trump shared Duffy’s sentiments on the high-speed rail project, calling it a “high-speed trail to nowhere.” The Federal Railroad Administration fired off a letter to the CHSRA saying it would be pulling the plug on federal funding, which topped out at nearly $4 billion in commitments, after it concluded the project would not be delivered as was originally promised.
The agency came to its decision due to continuous delays and rising costs, which included major change orders, stating that copious amounts of federal funding had already been spent on the project, despite the authority’s failure to meet critical milestones in its development. A formal process was launched by the CHSRA on December 19 to try and pull in private investors to provide funds for the high-speed rail project by the summer of 2026.
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“Interest from the private sector in investing in California’s high-speed rail project is strong and continues to grow,” Ian Choudri, the current CEO of the CHSRA, went on to say, Fox News Digital reported. “Today’s procurement formalizes efforts to partner with private investors and developers, with the shared goal of delivering California’s transformational program faster, smarter, and more economically,” he added.
Concluding, he noted, “By leveraging private sector innovation and best practices against strong, stable state funding, we can maximize the value of California’s investment and accelerate delivery of high-speed infrastructure throughout the state.”
The CHSRA put out a press release saying that 171 miles of the project are under design and construction between Merced and Bakersfield, with close to 80 miles of the guideway completed and dozens of other needed structures also fully built. A spokesperson for the authority spoke with Fox and said losing the federal funding won’t stop the project or the construction currently underway because the vast majority of the money coming through the state is from the voter-approved Proposition 1A and the Cap-and-Invest program. The spokesperson explained that federal dollars only make up 18% of the program’s expenditures and the project would move forward without them.