President Donald Trump is calling for an audit that could kill California’s high-speed rail proposal, which has been around for nearly two decades and has made very little progress.
Many union workers who depend on the federal lifeline turned out to Union Station in Los Angeles on Thursday to throw tomatoes and heckle Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, as his department will lead the charge of figuring out how the funds are being utilized.
“It’s been 17 years and $16 billion and no rail has been built,” Duffy said while the protesters were in the room reacting to his comments.
CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS URGE FEDS TO APPROVE HIGH-SPEED RAIL FUNDING BEFORE DOGE NIXES ‘BOONDOGGLE’
Sean Duffy arrives for a meeting with Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer about his nomination to lead the Department of Transportation, Dec. 10, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“So, if you want to go protest somewhere, if you want to go shout at someone, go to the governor’s mansion – go talk to Democrats in the legislature who have brought us this crappy project,” he added.
Specifically, the secretary wants to investigate if there were any shady business dealings tied with the rail project’s failure so far. As of January, the state was touting a small development in the project’s Bakersfield section.
“No state in America is closer to launching high-speed rail than California – and today, we just took a massive step forward. We’re moving into the track-laying phase, completing structures for key segments, and laying the groundwork for a high-speed rail network,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement last month.
“The future of transportation is being realized right here in the Central Valley with thousands of good-paying jobs already created and 171 miles being worked on. As only California can, we’re building America’s biggest infrastructure project,” he added.
Federal taxpayers spent almost $3 billion on the project – with another $4 billion promised by, but not already spent, from President Joe Biden. The audit could provide Trump with the legal authority to claw that money back.
Still, there is almost nothing to show for the project, which is projected to cost $106 billion to achieve its final goal of stretching from Los Angeles to San Francisco, according to the Associated Press. Proponents have argued that the rail would make California, one of the nation’s largest states, more connected.
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Ongoing construction of the California bullet train project is photographed in Corcoran, California, left, and Hanford, California, right. (Getty Images)
Congressman Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., is pleased to see the project getting federal attention.
“We have been fighting against this disastrous project for years, and now, thanks to Secretary Duffy and President Trump, we finally have an opportunity to hopefully bring it to an end,” he told Fox News Digital.
“I’m not sure why anyone would be in favor of what’s going on in California. We’re wasting taxpayer money in a really, just on an epic scale and not getting anything in return for it,” he added.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom and U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley (Getty Images)
In addition, Congresswoman Young Kim, R-Calif., argued “it’s about time” for accountability on the project.
“We’ll see if this investigation leads to finding any fraud and waste. If there is fraud, I know it would probably be in the areas of whether or not the contractors, subcontractors, the designer, the builders, anyone who’s involved with the high-speed rail project is somehow involved in this process,” she said.
