(The Center Square) — California’s senators have sent a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg requesting last-minute federal funding for the state’s high-speed rail project before the Trump administration takes office in January. This move comes amid concerns that the incoming administration might pull federal funding from the now $135 billion project, and use California as a national example for redirecting federal funds from Democratic priorities.
Once complete, the project is supposed to carry passengers from San Francisco to Los Angeles in under three hours, with one-way tickets priced at $86. It’s unclear how competitive this will be with air travel; one-way flights booked more than two weeks in advance currently cost $59 on Southwest, which includes two checked bags.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), proposed by the incoming Trump administration, aims to reduce what it views as wasteful government spending, recently spotlighted the project, and Congressmen Kevin Kiley, R-California, announced his bill to eliminate federal funding for the endeavor. Amid the state’s financial foes, a pause or withdrawal of federal funding could leave the state with no choice but to put the project on hold.
During the spring, the California High Speed Rail Authority requested the use of state rainy day funding to plug the $8 billion to $10 billion funding shortfall for the system’s initial $30 billion to $33 billion, 171-mile segment connecting the cities of Bakersfield and Merced in the relatively sparsely populated Central Valley. But with the state’s legislative analyst now finding the state has “no capacity” for new spending and projecting annual deficits will soon rise to $30 billion, enhanced state support for the project is unlikely, leaving federal funding as the only option to fill the gap.
The letter, signed by Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, and Reps. Pete Aguilar, Zoe Lofgren, and Jim Costa, requests an additional $536 million to join $134 million in state funds to complete a 30%, or preliminary, design of one tunnel in Southern California and one tunnel in Northern California. The letter also recounted the federal government’s existing $6.8 billion in support for the project, and $22 billion from California for the project thus far.
“By preparing for future final design and construction of complex tunnels in this corridor, the Project will advance both state and federal goals to improve safety, expand economic strength and global competitiveness, address equity issues, and implement sustainability practices to confront climate change,” wrote the federal legislators. “These investments will continue to support living wage jobs, provide small business opportunities, and equitably enhance the mobility of communities in need – including disadvantaged agricultural communities – all while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
In 2012, the state legislative analyst’s office found the bullet train would increase overall greenhouse gas emissions for the first 30 years of its operation, putting the project’s emissions impact — and state funding based on emissions reductions — into question.
Kiley, who is aiming to pass a bill in Congress ending federal support for the project, said even if a grant is approved, he hopes to keep that money away from California’s bullet train.
“A small group of CA Democrats is asking Biden to send even more money for High-Speed Rail … before Congress can pass my bill to deny further funding,” said Kiley on X. “If Biden complies, we will make sure that the grant is promptly revoked.”
Because U.S. Congress holds “power of the purse,” Kiley’s bill could allow the federal government to withhold any further funding from the project – even spending that is already approved.
However, it’s less clear whether the Trump administration could unilaterally halt funding. As a discretionary grant under the Department of Transportation, such a decision might fall within its authority, but political and legal challenges could arise.
