Sen. Cruz Investigation Reveals Wasted Federal Funds on California High-Speed Rail

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) released a supplemental investigative report examining how, despite billions of dollars in state and federal funding, California’s high-speed rail is nowhere close to functioning. Instead, gross mismanagement by California leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, has led to countless delays and ballooning costs. After more than a quarter of a century and $6.8 billion in awarded federal funds, not a single high-speed train is operational in California. On July 16, 2025, the Trump administration announced it would terminate $4.2 billion in funding previously awarded to the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) after the Federal Railroad Administration concluded CHSRA would not meet its commitment to begin operating by 2033 a 171-mile project segment between Merced and Bakersfield.

Last year, CHSRA further admitted that the Merced-to-Bakersfield line would not be profitable even once operational and therefore, incapable of recouping taxpayer dollars spent on its construction. As for the project’s original promise of high-speed rail service between San Francisco and Los Angeles, CHSRA admits trains will not begin running until 2038—more than 12 years later than its original estimate. With this in mind, Congress acted this week to permanently rescind $929 million for California High-Speed Rail in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026.  

Chairman Cruz’s supplemental account builds on the findings of a report he released last month, which detailed how the Obama-Biden administration pressured Amtrak to jointly acquire a high-speed trainset with the California High-Speed Rail Authority—ultimately leading to delays and flawed design specifications for Amtrak’s NextGen Acela trainset.

Discussing the report, Sen. Cruz said: “The report exposes how, despite ballooning costs and delays, Governor Newsom and the Biden-Harris administration continued to pour billions of dollars into the non-operational and unprofitable California high-speed rail project. Democrats made false promises on high-speed rail in California, failing to take into account the project’s practical challenges. I applaud the Trump administration for working with Congress to stop the frivolous waste of the hard-earned money of American taxpayers.”

Read the full report HERE.

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