In a bit of good news for those hoping to see some fiscal sanity return to the government now that DOGE has exposed how much money has been wasted on various sorts of nonsense, the Trump Department of Transportation has finally yanked away billions in federal funding for California’s bullet train to nowhere project.
As background, the project is one that has long made California a laughingstock amongst those who pay attention to infrastructure development. Originally conceived of as a high-speed rail project that would shuttle Californians between the major cities, namely San Francisco and LA, so that they could avoid traffic, it has since turned into a disaster.
Particularly, the cost has ballooned dramatically, going from the original goal of $33 billion to at least $128 billion, though even that is likely an understatement of the total cost. Further, billions of dollars have already been spent despite the rail currently only going a few miles in the middle of nowhere, with various environmental concerns and general red tape getting in the way of any real building.
So, once President Trump was inaugurated in 2025, his Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, announced that the Department of Transportation would be auditing the project to determine why it is a decade behind and nearly $100 billion over budget despite not even coming close to connecting LA and San Francisco. Further, at the time, President Trump declared that the federal government could claw back up to $4 billion in federal spending on the project.
Now that has happened. Such is what the DOT announced in a press release on July 16, noting that the boondoggle will no longer be funded by the federal government. It began, “U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy today announced the Federal Railroad Administration terminated approximately $4 billion in unspent federal funding for California’s High Speed Rail Boondoggle.”
Continuing, the press release noted that the costs have ballooned dramatically and billions have been spent with nothing to show for it. It said, “After 16 years and roughly $15 billion spent, not one high speed track has been laid by the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA). The $135 billion projected total cost of the project could buy every San Francisco and LA resident nearly 200 roundtrip flights between the cities.”
Further, the press release explained that it had done a full review into the project and none of its concerns had even been addressed, much less disproven, leading the DOT to determine that Gavin Newsom’s disaster of a state is not worthy of receiving federal funds. It said, “The decision follows FRA’s exhaustive compliance review, after which the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) was given two opportunities to respond consistent with the grant agreements. Neither response addressed FRA’s significant concerns. CHSRA simply cannot meet its obligations under the grant agreement.”
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That’s not all. Besides cancelling the $4 billion in direct grants for the project, the Trump Administration is working to cancel other funding related to the project, and could claw back money already spent. It said, “In addition to canceling $4 billion in unspent federal funds to CHSRA, Secretary Duffy has directed FRA to review other obligated and unobligated grants related to the CHSRA project. The Department of Transportation will also consult with the Department of Justice on the finding of FRA’s Compliance Review, including potentially clawing back funding related to California’s train to nowhere and other potential issues under Federal law.”
Secretary Duffy, defending the decision, noted that the entirety of blame in this debacle is at California’s feet, saying, “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.”
He continued, “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.”
Watch Duffy comment on the project audit here: