Why Is DC Sabotaging Our Most Ambitious Infrastructure Project?

By Jim Mathews / President & CEO

Just eight months ago, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) gave California’s high-speed rail project a clean bill of health.

Now, in a stunning about-face, the same agency wants to tear up its funding agreements and walk away — claiming the very same facts they reviewed last Fall now somehow amount to failure.

This isn’t oversight. It’s sabotage.

Let’s be clear: the FRA’s sudden claim that California has failed to comply with Federal high-speed rail agreements is not based on new information, new risks, or new facts. It’s based on a new Administration in Washington, and the old political playbook that too often treats public infrastructure — especially bold projects like high-speed rail — as partisan footballs to be spiked or deflated depending on who's in charge.

That kind of political whiplash is exactly why our nation lags behind the rest of the developed world in building modern transportation. And this time, it threatens to derail one of the most transformative infrastructure projects in American history.

California’s high-speed rail line, now under active construction across the Central Valley, has already generated more than $22 billion in economic activity and created over 15,000 good-paying jobs, generating $1.69 in returns on every program dollar invested even before the very first passenger rides the train.

Trains will connect the economically disadvantaged heart of the state—places like Fresno, Kings, and Tulare Counties—to hubs of opportunity. And the project is being built to world-class standards, with 220-mph trains on dedicated, electrified tracks. This isn’t an Amtrak upgrade. It’s America’s first true high-speed rail system.

So why is the FRA suddenly trying to kill it?

Their June 4 report reads less like a regulatory assessment and more like an opposition white paper. It cherry-picks old data, misrepresents the conclusions of independent oversight bodies, and pretends that major legislative advances — like Governor Newsom’s budget proposal to guarantee $1 billion in annual Cap-and-Invest revenue — don’t even exist.

Worse, it recycles debunked talking points about ridership and funding gaps, ignoring the very same documents the FRA reviewed when it approved these agreements last year. If California’s business plan, schedule, or funding model were so flawed, why did FRA agree to them in the first place?

The truth is that this isn’t about compliance. It’s about politics.

Hostility to high-speed rail — and to California’s leadership in pioneering it — is nothing new. We saw this same playbook in 2019 when the previous Trump Administration tried to claw back already-committed funding using similarly flimsy reasoning. California filed suit in Federal court, and in 2021 California was able to secure a settlement with the Biden Administration that preserved the funding and revised grant terms. California may need to head back to court again.

This time, the stakes are even higher. California’s rail project isn’t just a state initiative—it’s the proving ground for America’s high-speed future. If the FRA succeeds in withdrawing support now, it sends a chilling message to every other state exploring high-speed rail: You can do everything right, and we’ll still pull the rug out from under you.

That’s not how partnerships work. It’s not how infrastructure gets built. And it’s not how America reclaims its place as a global leader in transportation.

Let’s not forget what’s already been accomplished. Nearly 70 miles of guideway and 50 major structures are complete. Environmental reviews are done for the full 463-mile Phase 1 system from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The railyard is under construction. Viaducts, overpasses, and electrification are underway. This is not a blueprint. It’s a megaproject in full swing.

And now, at the very moment the project is turning the corner, the FRA wants to declare defeat?

If the FRA has concerns, it should work with the Authority to resolve them — as partners, not prosecutors. That’s what the project’s cooperative agreements call for. That’s what the taxpayers who’ve already invested billions deserve.

This reversal is more than a bureaucratic maneuver. It’s a betrayal of good faith, of national priorities, and of every worker sweating under a Central Valley sun to bring this project to life. If the Federal government walks away now, it won’t just be California’s loss. It will be America’s.