Trump admin puts ‘disastrous’ high-speed rail project in blue state on notice

President Donald Trump is taking aim at California’s high-speed rail proposal, a project that has been in the works for nearly two decades with minimal progress to show for it. Trump is calling for an audit to investigate the project’s use of funds, which has cost taxpayers billions of dollars without any substantial results.

Union workers who rely on the federal funding for the project gathered at Union Station in Los Angeles to express their frustration by throwing tomatoes and heckling Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Duffy, who will lead the investigation into the project’s financials, acknowledged the lack of progress, stating, “It’s been 17 years and $16 billion and no rail has been built.”

The audit aims to uncover any potential shady dealings that may have contributed to the project’s failure to deliver on its promises. Despite Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent statement boasting progress in the Bakersfield section of the project, critics argue that there is still very little to show for the massive investment.

With federal taxpayers already contributing nearly $3 billion to the project and an additional $4 billion promised by President Joe Biden, Trump sees the audit as an opportunity to potentially recoup some of that money. The ultimate goal of the high-speed rail project is to connect Los Angeles to San Francisco at an estimated cost of $106 billion.

California Republicans, such as Congressman Kevin Kiley and Congresswoman Young Kim, are welcoming the federal scrutiny of the project. Kiley expressed relief that the project is finally receiving attention at the federal level, emphasizing the need to bring it to an end due to the wasteful use of taxpayer funds. Kim echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the importance of accountability and the potential discovery of fraud and waste in the project’s execution.

As the audit moves forward, supporters and critics of the high-speed rail project are eagerly awaiting the findings. Whether the audit will uncover any wrongdoing or inefficiencies in the project remains to be seen, but it is clear that California’s ambitious transportation initiative is facing significant challenges and scrutiny from the highest levels of government.