...
By Theo Burman
Live News Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
California Senator Alex Padilla has hit back at the White House after President Donald Trump said that his administration would not give any more money to the state's high-speed rail project.
Padilla branded Trump's stance as a "waste" and accused the president of playing "political games" with the infrastructure project, which is scheduled to start laying track this year.
Responding to the senator's statement, White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai told Newsweek: "If Alex Padilla really cared about the California high-speed rail project, he'd ask his fellow California Democrats why the project is decades behind schedule and overbudget by tens of billions of dollars."
Read More on News
Newsweek contacted Padilla's office via email for comment.
...
Why It Matters
The Trump administration has become increasingly antagonistic toward high-speed rail programs across the U.S., with California's project receiving the brunt of the force. Trump has described the project as a "green disaster" and last week, he said that it was "a stupid project that should have never been built," withdrawing all federal funding for it.
The California high-speed rail system has faced attempts from local legislators to shut it down, with many Republicans accusing the project of being a money pit with no end.
What To Know
In response to Trump's funding cut announcement, Padilla, who has been a long-term proponent of California's rail project, said that the decision would waste federal spending money.
"California's high-speed rail is the most audited public works project in the country," Padilla said on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday.
"Trump and his admin are hellbent on killing the project. Why? Because they'd rather waste billions and lose jobs for political games. California is leading the nation in realizing the vision of building the nation's first true high-speed rail –– and I'm going to continue fighting for it."
Padilla is not the only California lawmaker criticizing the government's stance. Governor Gavin Newsom, who has also backed the high-speed rail project heavily, said that the move was "reckless", and risked wasting the billions of dollars already invested in the project.
Voters originally approved the project in 2008 with a $10 billion bond, but spiraling costs have since pushed estimates from $40 billion to as high as $128 billion. The inspector general also flagged concerns earlier this year, noting that the Merced to Bakersfield segment alone faced a $6.5 billion funding gap and was unlikely to meet its 2033 completion goal.
In February, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy initiated a federal review to determine whether the project complied with funding requirements.
What People Are Saying
Daniel Villaseñor, a spokesperson for Newsom, told Newsweek in response to Trump's funding cut: "Hard pass on fiscal tips from the self-described 'King of Debt' who ran a steak company, a casino, and a global economy—all into the ground.
"With 50 major structures built, walking away now as we enter the tracklaying phase would be reckless—wasting billions already invested and letting job-killers cede a generational infrastructure advantage to China."
White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai told Newsweek: "Democrat incompetence and red tape is killing the high-speed rail project, not the Trump administration."
What Happens Next
The rail project enters the track laying phase this year, with the first part of the construction process focusing on the 171-mile segment between Merced and Bakersfield.
Update 5/13/25, 10:56 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines