Off The Rails

The train to nowhere may be on its last run:

Any spending cuts proposed by DOGE would need congressional approval to be implemented, but there seems to be support in both chambers for ending federal funding for California high-speed rail. In November, Sen. Joni Ernst (R–Iowa) sent a letter to Musk and Ramaswamy recommending that DOGE target several public transit systems in California, including high-speed rail. Rep. Kevin Kiley (R–Calif.) has called the project one of the most wasteful in U.S. history. Even with congressional support, DOGE will face an uphill battle to pull back grant money that has already been awarded, says Marc Scribner, senior transportation policy analyst at Reason Foundation (the nonprofit that publishes this magazine). While the Rail Authority has still not finalized a $3 billion federal grant awarded to them in 2023, the Biden administration will likely push to get this funding out the door before Donald Trump's inauguration. If this happens, the Trump administration's best play would be to simply not fund the project in the future, according to Scribner.

The line ends here...