California High-Speed Rail Project faces Federal Funding Halt, Legal challenge
Teh California High-Speed Rail project is embroiled in controversy following a decision by the trump management to cancel federal funding and initiate a review of existing grants. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced the move, labeling the project a “boondoggle” and stating the federal government would no longer invest in what he called California’s “failed experiment.”
“In twenty years, California has not been able to lay a single track of high-speed rail,” Duffy said in a statement released on February 12, 2025. “The waste ends here. As of today, the American people are done investing in California’s failed experiment.Instead, my Department will focus on making travel great again by investing in well-managed projects that can make projects like high-speed rail a reality.”
Construction is currently underway on portions of the project, including the Hanford Viaduct over Highway 198 in Hanford, California.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority responded to the funding cancellation, asserting they recently purchased track components with the intention of progressing towards completion within the next year. A spokesperson characterized the administration’s actions as “a continuation of the Trump Administration’s illegal, politically motivated, and baseless attack on California High-Speed Rail and Central Valley communities.” They maintained, “The facts are clear: California is delivering the only true high-speed system under construction in North America.”
Duffy also directed the Federal railroad administration (FRA) to review all grants already allocated to the project. This action follows a July 2025 FRA report outlining “serious concerns” regarding the project’s viability, including questions about its ability to meet deadlines and allegations of contract breaches. The administration afterward canceled all federal funding for the railroad group in July.
California filed a lawsuit against the Department of Transportation in July, contesting the funding withdrawal as “illegal.” Duffy responded with an opinion piece published in The Sacramento bee, criticizing California Governor gavin Newsom’s understanding of “functional government.”
The high-speed rail project originated from a 2008 state ballot measure aiming to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles in under three hours. The scope of the project was later reduced to a 170-mile segment between Merced and Bakersfield.The FRA currently estimates the revised project will cost approximately $22 billion, with an anticipated completion date of 2033. The California high-Speed Rail Authority has stated that the majority of its funding comes from the state, rather than the federal government.
