Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is threatening to pull federal funding for California's long-troubled high-speed rail project. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr. | David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)
He blasted it as a "boondoggle," as zero miles of high-speed track have been laid since ground was broken 10 years ago, and the cost continues to balloon.
The 300-page report, released by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on Wednesday, examined the project and found delays, missed deadlines, mismanagement, waste, skyrocketing costs, budget shortfalls and overrepresentation of projected ridership.
The report states that despite the money already plowed into the project, there is a $7 billion funding gap to complete a subset of the first phase in the Central Valley from Merced to Bakersfield, known as the Early Operating Segment (EOS).
"This report exposes a cold, hard truth: CHSRA has no viable path to complete this project on time or on budget," Duffy said Wednesday. "CHSRA is on notice — If they can’t deliver on their end of the deal, it could soon be time for these funds to flow to other projects that can achieve President Trump’s vision of building great, big, beautiful things again.
"Our country deserves high-speed rail that makes us proud – not boondoggle trains to nowhere."
President Donald Trump has criticzed California Gov. Gavin Newsom for the delays. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images/Daila Pena)
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The FRA also accused the CHSRA of not acting in good faith in making representations to the FRA regarding its ability to complete the EOS with a reasonable budget and schedule.
The FRA wrote to the CHSRA and said it has up to 37 days to respond, after which it could seek repayment of the two collective agreement grants totaling $4 billion.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office directed Fox News to a press conference he held last month, when he discussed a revised budget plan for the state. He said the state was committed to completing the project and that the revised plan would allocate $1 billion each year for the next 20 years using funds from the state’s cap-and-trade program.
Fox News Digital reached out to CHSRA for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/duffy-moves-defund-california-high-speed-rail-after-blistering-federal-review