Trump Administration Says It Will Rescind $929 Million For California High-Speed Rail
The announcement comes one day after California joined a 16-state lawsuit challenging the president’s emergency declaration to fund a border wall.
The U.S. Transportation Department on Tuesday said it intends to terminate an agreement that would have granted nearly $929 million in federal funds for California’s ambitious and controversial high-speed rail project.
The department said it had determined that the California High-Speed Rail Authority had “materially failed to comply with the terms of the agreement” and had “failed to make reasonable progress on the project.”
The department also said in a statement it was “actively exploring every legal option to seek the return from California of $2.5 billion in federal funds.” It is unclear whether the department has legal recourse to do so.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) responded by accusing President Donald Trump of “political retribution” after California was joined by 15 states in a lawsuit on Monday challenging the president’s declaration of a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“It’s no coincidence that the Administration’s threat comes 24 hours after California led 16 states in challenging the President’s farcical ‘national emergency,’” Newsom said in a statement. “The President even tied the two issues together in a tweet this morning.”
Trump referenced California’s high-speed rail in a tweet on Tuesday about the lawsuit.
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https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-administration-rescind-929-million-california-high-speed-rail_n_5c6c9221e4b0e37a1ed28ee1
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