The Trump administration has announced it will try to cancel nearly a billion dollars in federal grant money for the California High Speed Rail project. The Federal Railroad Administration says in a letter that the state has "failed to make reasonable progress on the project". They also say they are exploring legal options to get another 2.5 billion dollars in federal funds given to the state.
Governor Newsom said in his State of the State address last week that he wanted to scale back the High Speed Rail project due to cost overrun. The Trump administration cited Newsom's speech as a reason they want to take federal funds back.
The Trump administration argues California hasn't provided required matching dollars and can't complete work by a 2022 deadline. Gov. Gavin Newsom's office and California rail officials didn't immediately comment.
California Governor Gavin Newsom says the Trump administration is engaging in "political retribution" by trying to take back $3.5 billion granted for the state's high-speed rail project. The Democratic governor says President Donald Trump is reacting to California suing over Trump's emergency declaration to pay for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
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