Construction continues Wednesday, March 30, 2022 on pillars for High Speed Rail in Hanford just north of Highway 198.
Washington D.C. – California Senator Alex Padilla is pushing back hard against the White House after President Donald Trump announced his administration would withdraw all federal funding from the state’s embattled high-speed rail project.
Padilla, a longtime supporter of the ambitious infrastructure effort, accused Trump of playing “political games” and endangering jobs and investments in the process. “Trump and his admin are hellbent on killing the project. Why? Because they’d rather waste billions and lose jobs for political games,” Padilla posted Monday on X, formerly Twitter. “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.”
Trump’s decision escalates the administration’s opposition to high-speed rail initiatives nationwide. California’s project has been a particular target, with the president deriding it as a “green disaster” and “a stupid project that should have never been built.” The White House followed up the move by blaming “Democrat incompetence and red tape” for the project’s delays and ballooning costs.
Voters approved the California high-speed rail project in 2008 with a $10 billion bond, but estimated costs have since soared, ranging from $40 billion to $128 billion. The initial 171-mile segment between Merced and Bakersfield is now in focus, set to enter its track-laying phase later this year. However, a recent inspector general’s report warned that the segment faces a $6.5 billion funding shortfall and is unlikely to meet its 2033 completion target.
Governor Gavin Newsom also blasted Trump’s decision, calling it “reckless.” His spokesperson, Daniel Villaseñor, mocked the president’s economic track record, telling Newsweek: “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 already built, walking away now as we enter the track-laying phase would be reckless — wasting billions already invested and letting job-killers cede a generational infrastructure advantage to China,” Villaseñor added.
The White House, meanwhile, stood by the funding cut, with deputy press secretary Kush Desai saying, “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 over budget by tens of billions of dollars.”
Despite these political clashes, California’s Democratic leadership remains committed to the project, portraying it as a bold investment in the state’s future — and a battleground in the nation’s fight over climate, infrastructure, and partisan priorities.
