California's high-speed rail project about to lose federal money again. Does it matter?

David Lightman, The Sacramento Bee on Feb 5, 2026

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WASHINGTON — California’s high-speed rail project will officially lose $928 million in federal funding under the transportation spending bill President Donald Trump signed into law this week, a cut the Trump administration and Republicans hailed as an important cost-cutting move.

But state rail officials say the cut was applied months ago, and the project is proceeding. The Trump administration announced last summer it was pulling almost $4 billion of the rail’s federal funding, including a $928.6 million grant first awarded in 2010.

The money “was already terminated by the federal government, so this bill does nothing,” said a statement from the California High-Speed Rail Authority.

“The Trump administration has proven itself to be an untrustworthy partner. Rather than continuing to spend time and money challenging the termination, the state is moving forward without them,” it said.

The termination is part of a huge bill that includes budgets for transportation, defense, labor, housing and urban development, and other agencies. The legislation extended the Department of Homeland Security budget through next Friday, while other departments are funded through September 30, the end of the current fiscal year.

The other agencies’ spending has not stirred controversy, so the Senate is expected to approve those budgets. The House would then have to concur again, probably next week.

On Page 1 of a summary of the legislation, the rail project is cited as an example of how the bill “supports the Trump Administration and mandate of the American people.”

The description simply says the bill is “terminating $928 million from the now-canceled California high speed rail project.”

Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, who has led the fight to cut the money, said Friday the rail project “has become a textbook example of government failure under Governor Newsom.”

“Taxpayers should not be forced to continue funding a project that has consistently failed to meet deadlines or demonstrate fiscal responsibility,” Kiley said.

High-speed rail project goes on

The project, though, has not been canceled, and 463 miles of the 494-mile San Francisco to Los Angeles/Anaheim system have been fully environmentally cleared, according to the state rail authority.

Over the last year alone, the authority said, it “has entered the track-laying phase, invited industry to bid on laying electrified high-speed rail track and systems, and launched a process to draw in private investors and developers to begin the process of delivering the project faster.”

“We’re making real progress on the high-speed rail project. Work continues daily on the high-speed rail project, with 171 miles currently under design and construction from Merced to Bakersfield,” the authority said.

Nearly 80 miles of guideway are complete, along with nearly 60 fully completed major structures, and more than 30 more structures underway across Madera, Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties.

California lawmakers last September renewed the state’s financial commitment to the project with $20 billion through 2045 for high-speed rail.

But Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday said California may seek new federal grants for high-speed rail when there is a new administration in the White House.

“He’s temporary,” Newsom said about Trump. “By the time he’s out, we’ll have substantially completed this rail line.”

The project had been plagued by delays and cost increases for years. Voters originally approved the plan in 2008, when it was seen as a bullet train that would carry people from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

The Trump objection

Under Trump, federal money has dried up. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has sharply criticized the project, citing what he called “a decade of failures.”

In July, he said in a press release he was terminating $3.8 billion in federal aid. The money in the bill is part of that sum. Because it is included in the bill, if passed it cannot be reallocated to the project.

“It is time for this boondoggle to die,” Duffy said. Kiley has been leading the fight to stop the funding, leading his website by declaring “We won,” and displaying the notice from the Federal Rail Administration cancelling the money.

The rail authority keeps going with the project.

About 18% of the program’s funds have come from the federal government. In September, Newsom signed legislation that should provide state funding through 2045 for the project, as well as making it easier to lure private investment.

“Federal requirements have, at times, hindered project delivery by adding cost and delays without adding value — creating inefficiencies, constraining innovation and slowing construction,” said an authority statement.

“Moving forward without the Trump administration’s involvement allows the Authority to pursue proven global best practices used successfully by modern high-speed rail systems around the world.”

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—McClatchy reporter Erik Galicia contributed to this story.

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