California sues Trump administration over cancelled high-speed rail funding

California Governor Gavin Newsom has pledged to fight what he called an “illegal” decision by President Donald Trump’s administration to cancel more than $4 billion in federal funding for the state’s high-speed rail project, describing it as a politically motivated attack on one of the country’s most ambitious infrastructure undertakings.

On July 17, the California High-Speed Rail Authority filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, challenging the federal government’s move as “arbitrary and capricious” and an abuse of executive authority, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

The legal challenge comes just one day after the U.S. Department of Transportation announced it would rescind the grants, dealing a significant blow to the 16-year-old initiative designed to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco via a three-hour train journey.

Newsom, a vocal critic of the Trump administration, said the timing of the decision was suspect, as the project was on the brink of laying track in the Central Valley segment between Bakersfield and Merced. The governor described the grant cancellation as "petty, political retribution, motivated by President Trump's personal animus toward California and the high-speed rail project, not the facts on the ground", adding, “California is putting all options on the table to fight this illegal action.”

The lawsuit argues that the federal government’s action undermines years of progress and investment in the project, which was approved by California voters in 2008 through a $10 billion bond measure. According to the complaint, the project has already completed 70 miles of guideway and constructed over 50 major railway structures, including bridges, overpasses, and viaducts.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, defending the administration’s decision, said the lawsuit was expected and predicted it would fail. “We have to pull the plug,” Duffy told reporters, calling the high-speed rail effort a wasteful "boondoggle." His spokesperson added later, “Naturally, Gavin Newsom’s plan is to waste even more taxpayer dollars defending this boondoggle. See you in court, Gavin.”

By Vugar Khalilov