President Donald Trump canceled nearly $1 billion in federal funding for the high-speed rail project in 2019, during his first term. The Biden administration later restored the funding and, in December 2023, allocated $3.3 billion more.

The transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, said the government would conduct a “compliance review” on a $3.1 billion grant, potentially threatening the viability of the troubled project.

The Trump administration has launched an investigation into California’s high-speed rail project in what could be the first step in clawing back the $4 billion promised by the Biden administration to build out the first section of the line, from Merced to Bakersfield.

Duffy, speaking at Union Station in Los Angeles on Thursday morning, said the Federal Railroad Administration will review the rail project and its leadership.

At the behest of President Donald Trump, Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy Thursday ordered a Federal Railroad Administration review of $4 billion in funding for California's high-speed rail project.

The Federal Railroad Administration initiated a review of California's 400-mile high-speed rail project aimed at connecting Los Angeles to San Francisco following concerns voiced by the Trump Administration,

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said the California high-speed rail project will continue to cost taxpayers billions of dollars with no definitive timeline for completion.