CA Congressional Democrats Scramble to Push Huge High Speed Rail Grant

A group of Californian’s congressional Democrats comprising of Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Senator-elect Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Congressional Members Jim Costa (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), and Pete Aguilar (D-CA) continued to make a major push this week for the U.S.  Department of Transportation (DOT) to approve $536 million in grants to help complete construction of the California High-Speed rail project before the inauguration of Donald Trump.

Originally estimated to cost $33 billion in 2008 with a San Francisco to Los Angeles line set to open by 2028, the California high speed rail system has since ballooned to costing  $128 billion to $135 billion, with an estimated partial completion being set somewhere in the 2030’s. Earlier this year in March, the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHRSA) confirmed that the system still needed $100 billion to link up San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Since March, the “$100 billion behind” number has remained largely unchanged. But the grand scale of the project has only invited more criticism. Following Donald Trump’s victory last month and his proposal of forming the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the cost of the High Speed Rail project has once again fallen under federal crosshairs. Previously, Trump cancelled around $1 billion in funding for the project when he was still in his first term, only for President Joe Biden to bring it back, along with an extra $300,000.

However, earlier this month, all federal funding was suddenly on the line, as expected DOGE Co-Commissioner Vivek Ramaswamy confirmed last week that the will be looking at removing all-funding from the California High Speed rail project. In particular, Ramaswamy balked at project needing at least $100 billion more to be completed, the project’s substantial delays and the $6.8 billion in federal funding it has received, as well as the $8 billion in additional funding that has been requested.

Congressman Kevin Kiley (R-CA) also announced earlier this month that he plans to introduce a bill soon that would eliminate federal funding for the failed California High-Speed Rail project, which, if successful, would amount to at least $8 billion in potential federal funding.

Faced with both DOGE and Congress looking to axe federal funds for the project, California Democrats quickly scrambled to save as much as possible. This led to this week, when the Padilla and Schiff group of lawmakers urged DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg to sign off on $536 million in grants to help complete the California Phase I Corridor of the project. Essentially, the funding would help complete tunneling through Northern and Southern California mountain ranges to help connect the Central Valley to both San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Scramble over $536 million in grants

“The California Phase I Corridor is essential to enhancing our nation’s and California’s strategic transportation network investments,” the letter by the lawmakers to Buttigieg said. “The Phase 1 Corridor aims to address climate concerns, promote health, improve access and connectivity, and boost economic vitality, while addressing current highway and rail capacity constraints.

“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. Please consider the enormous value and meaningful impact that FSP-National grant funding will provide to advancing CAHSR beyond the Central Valley.”

The incoming Trump administration, through DOGE, has made it clear that all federal funding for California’s rail project would be halted. California Republican lawmakers in Washington like Kiley haven’t been the only ones urging the Trump administration to pull funding either, as state Republican lawmakers have been adamant about it as well. However, their efforts to halt funding at the state level has been made extremely difficult due to both a Democratic majority in the California legislature and Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom.

“California’s ‘train to nowhere’ has already wasted billions of taxpayer dollars – now Biden wants all Americans to fund this boondoggle,” said Senator Brian Jones (R-San Diego). “When President Trump returns to office in a few weeks, he must defund the high-speed rail. This wasteful government experiment must end once and for all.”

The question now will be if the current push for the $536 million in grants will be successful. While the Biden administration has been supportive of funding for the rail system, such passage could also prove moot if the Trump administration does what they are expected to do and simply pulls all funding.

“Pulling funding wouldn’t be all that hard,” transportation industry accountant Derrick Clark told the Globe. “DOGE, if they form, can advise on cutting off those funds. From there, it goes through both houses of Congress. Both of whom are GOP majority remember. Then past that Trump will need to approve it and, come on, he will.

“When it comes to funds, even if they manage to secure this $536 million, Trump can still take off billions. So, best case scenario for the Democrats, is that they get the grants in time. Worst case is that they lose all those billions in federal funding, putting more pressure on the state to fund it. And California taxpayers are getting pretty annoyed with it as is. I don’t know how they’ll make up for federal funds being removed.”