California Governor Gavin Newsom has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration following the cancellation of more than $4 billion in federal funding designated for the state’s high-speed rail project.
Newsom accused President Donald Trump of political retaliation and vowed to fight what he called an illegal move that could derail the Central Valley’s infrastructure and economy.
“Trump’s termination of federal grants for California high-speed rail reeks of politics,” Newsom said in a statement. “It’s yet another political stunt to punish California.”
The legal action sets the stage for another high-profile clash between the Golden State and the White House, as California seeks to preserve what it describes as the nation’s only high-speed rail project currently under construction.
Trump Administration Slams Rail Project
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy defended the cancellation, citing longstanding issues with the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA).
According to Duffy, the decision followed a comprehensive review that revealed over a decade of poor performance and no tangible results.
“This is California’s fault,” Duffy said. “Governor Newsom and the complicit Democrats have enabled this waste for years. Federal dollars are not a blank check – they come with a promise to deliver results.”
The administration pointed to a 300-page audit conducted in June, which concluded that not a single mile of high-speed rail had been completed despite 16 years of planning, construction, and spending. The report detailed repeated delays, overestimated ridership, ballooning costs, mismanagement, and failure to meet contract deadlines.
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President Trump echoed Duffy’s remarks on Truth Social, writing:
“I have officially freed you from funding California’s disastrously overpriced, ‘HIGH SPEED TRAIN TO NOWHERE.’”
He added: “The Railroad we were promised still does not exist, and never will. This project was Severely Overpriced, Overregulated, and NEVER DELIVERED.”
‘This Is Political Retribution’
Newsom’s lawsuit argues the funding termination was not based on project performance but rather “petty, political retribution” due to the Trump administration’s animosity toward California.
He called the decision an attack on the Central Valley, an area that the rail project was expected to help economically.
“In reality, this is just a heartless attack on the Central Valley that will put real jobs and livelihoods on the line,” Newsom stated.
He emphasized that the state is already in the “track-laying phase” and that the project is further along than other high-speed rail efforts across the country, such as the stalled Texas initiative.
“Trump wants to hand China the future and abandon the Central Valley,” Newsom said. “We won’t let him.”
In addition to the $4 billion withdrawal, Secretary Duffy has directed the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to review other grants related to CHSRA — both those already committed and those still pending obligation.
This opens the possibility of further funding losses for California if federal officials determine that other grant conditions were also unmet.
