On July 16 U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced the termination of $4 billion in federal funding for the California high-speed rail project that would connect San Francisco to Los Angeles and San Diego. The release stated, “After 16 years and roughly $15 billion spent, not one high-speed track has been laid by the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA).” These cuts were justified by a June 2025 report by the Federal Railroad Administration, which stated that the project did not comply with federal obligations and cited “missed deadlines, budget shortfalls, and over representation of projected ridership.”
The state has provided about 75% of the funding for the rail system, and the federal government covers about 25%, so the federal cuts may be painful but not necessarily fatal. In 2021 President Biden restored $929 million of funding that President Trump had cut in 2019.
In 2008 state voters approved the plan and provided the initial $10 billion to get the project off the ground. The state is legally obligated to continue the plan. The current state budget proposal by Governor Gavin Newsom includes $1 billion per year for the next 20 years to complete the project. The original plan was to make California an exporter of high-speed trains and related technology.
