Trump administration pulls USD 4 billion in federal funding for California's bullet train project

The Trump administration has revoked federal funding for Californias highspeed rail project intensifying uncertainty about how the state will make good on its longdelayed promise of building a bullet train to shuttle riders between San Francisco and Los AngelesThe US Transportation Department announced it was pulling back USD 4 billion in funding for the project weeks after signalling it would do so Overall a little less than a quarter of the projects funding has come from the federal government The rest has come from the state mainly through a voterapproved bond and money from its capandtrade programmePresident Donald Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy both have slammed the project as a train to nowhere The Railroad we were promised still does not exist and never will Trump wrote on Truth Social This project was Severely Overpriced Overregulated and NEVER DELIVEREDThe loss marks the latest blow to California by the Trump administration which has blocked a firstinthenation rule to phase out the sale of new gaspowered cars launched investigations into university admission policies and threatened to pull funding over transgender girls being allowed to compete in girls sportsIt also comes as rail project leaders are seeking private investment to help pay for its estimated price tag of more than USD 100 billion Voters first approved the project in 2008 and it was supposed to be operating this decade But cost estimates have consistently grown and its timeline pushed backState officials are now focused on building a 119mile 192kilometre stretch connecting the Central Valley cities of Bakersfield and Merced that is set to be operating by 2033 The California High Speed Rail Authority is slated to release a report this summer to state lawmakers with an updated funding plan and timeline for the projectAuthority officials wrote in a letter earlier this month that the Trump administration made up its mind about revoking funding before thoroughly reviewing the project They noted that more than 50 structures have already been built including underpasses viaducts and bridges to separate the rail line from roadways for safetyCancelling these grants without cause isnt just wrong its illegal authority CEO Ian Choudri said in a statement Wednesday These are legally binding agreements and the Authority has met every obligation as confirmed by repeated federal reviews as recently as February 2025 The authority has asked potential private investors to express their interest by the end of the monthDemocratic Gov Gavin Newsom said the state will keep all options on the table to fight the revocation of federal funds Trump wants to hand China the future and abandon the Central Valley We wont let him he said in a statement The state has no viable plan to complete even the Central Valley segment said Drew Feeley acting administrator of the transportation departments Federal Railroad Administration in a report released last month He called the project a story of broken promises and a waste of taxpayer dollarsCalifornia Democrats also have criticised project spending Democratic Assembly member Rebecca BauerKahan said at a budget hearing earlier this year that her constituents overwhelmingly believe highspeed rail spending has been irresponsible Newsom plans to extend the states capandtrade program a key funding source for the project which is set to expire at the end of 2030 through 2045The program sets a declining limit on the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions large emitters can release Those polluters can buy allowances from the state needed to pollute and about 45 per cent of that money goes into whats known as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund according to the Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee a group of experts that reviews the program The fund helps pay for climate and transportation projects including highspeed railThe bullet train project receives 25 per cent of the money from the fund which ends up being a little less or a little more than USD 1 billion annually depending on the year Newsom in May proposed guaranteeing USD 1 billion a year for the project from the fund but lawmakers have not agreed to thatThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever