The Trump administration has launched compliance review of California’s high-speed rail project, Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Announced Thursday.
The review will focus on the $4 billion promised by the Biden administration to continue building Central Valley Between Merced and Bakersfield, the prospects for the train’s future federal funding commitment, which faces ongoing challenges related to budget and timelines will be identified.
“We can’t just say we’re going to donate money and then not let the states be responsible for how they spend money – how they’re based on the agreement with the federal government,” Duffy said in the downtown Union Station, Los Angeles. “If California wants to continue investing, that’s great, but we’re going to consider whether the project deserves a constant investment in the Trump administration.”
Duffy said the department will also review grants about the Green New Deal and Social Justice Program.
A few days after the announcement Republican lawmakers urge Trump To investigate the high-speed rail train, after Trump and cabinet leaders said they would check the project.
“We welcome this investigation and the opportunity to work with our federal partners,” said Ian Choudri, CEO of the High Speed Rail Administration. “With multiple independent federal and state audits completed, each One dollar is explained, we insist on the progress and impact of the project… This investment has had a $22 billion economic impact, mainly benefiting the Central Valley.”
The High-speed Railway Administration said the project has cost about $13 billion and that most people have funded through the state. Duffy said the project has already spent $15.7 billion. It is not clear why these estimates differ.
At a press conference, protesters on the other side of the curtain called to separate the press conference from the railway station, flooding Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) and other opposing high-speed rail Comments from the Members of the Project.
Traffic planner Jesse Budlong, who participated in the protest, said the announcement was located in a political stand for transit users who rely on public transportation.
“We don’t have anything positive today,” he said. “These programs are reviewed monthly and yearly by multiple departments and agencies, so I don’t think they will necessarily find anything shocking.”
But the entire line between San Francisco and Los Angeles is Environmental removal for construction Last year, the project faced A huge challenge. The budget is about $100 billion higher than the authorities’ initial $33 billion estimate, and leaders have not yet determined the tens of thousands of dollars needed to complete it. The train was originally launched in 2020; instead, the building is limited to a 171-mile extension of the Central Valley and has not completed any part.
Board members and transit leaders have acknowledged the obstacles, as well as a state-designated peer review panel that recommends authorities to recommend a re-examination of the plan. Private sector investment has been marked as the necessary effort to survive the project.
Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is concerned about the massive impact the statewide high-speed assets could provide to the federal government.
“It doesn’t seem like a government that favors transit and California,” she said, adding that the lack of federal funding will require further taxpayer support to complete the full project that has been underway. “That means that to complete these projects, people will have to spend more money, their own taxes, and it’s really important when we give people relief and lower the cost of living.”
trump card Hit the high-speed rail project Earlier this month, it was called “mismanagement”. In response, the High-speed Railway Administration released a progress report on X.
“Ignore the noise. We’re busy building,” The post sayshighlighting the environmental clearance of the project’s construction between Los Angeles and San Francisco, the construction of the Central Valley and the over 14,000 work provided by the project.
California’s high-speed rail efforts have always been Targets by government efficiency departmentsan organization run by Elon Musk. In an article on December X, it highlighted the $6.8 billion the project received from federal funding and the authorities’ demand for an additional $8 billion. Musk said earlier last year that billions of dollars were spent on high-speed rail “little was there.”
The first Trump administration is trying to capture the roughly $1 billion that Obama promised. Authorities and state leaders are ready to move forward.
last month, Governor Gavin News Agency and Transportation Officials Tie the state’s high-speed rail train to the privately owned Brightline West train, which will connect Los Angeles to Las Vegas and announce two May connections. Duffy said on Thursday that Brightline could be “worth investing”.
