Despite a plethora of challenges, the Trump Administration is pushing ahead with its top-to-bottom review of government spending. It has already halted billions in what it views as wasteful spending. It now looks like one of the most wasteful, runaway public works projects in the country could be on the chopping block: California’s high-speed rail project. The project to build a bullet train from Los Angeles to Sacramento is an outrageous example of a public work that lacked any fiscal responsibility or oversight from the state government. Nevertheless, Democrats continue to push for billions more from the federal government as well as California taxpayers.
There is currently $4.3 billion in unspent federal funds for California’s high-speed rail project, and Trump should seek to claw back the money in light of the gross negligence shown by the California authorities.
The project was initially approved in 2008 with the support of Gov. Jerry Brown (D) as an environmental and technological advance for the state. It proved a costly bait-and-switch.
Voters approved a $9.95 billion bond issue in 2008 after absurdly low estimates of the projected cost. Influential figures and companies stood to make a fortune, and the key was to get a “buy-in” worth billions so that it would be more and more difficult to abandon the project as overruns and delays sent the costs soaring.
Now the official estimate of future ridership has dropped by 25% and it demands billions more to complete a project that would be delayed by decades to complete. Remember that this entire project was meant to create a rail line of only 171 miles. It is projected at over $128 billion and could ultimately come in a billion dollars a mile. There are still uncompleted environmental assessments and challenging rail lines through the mountains.
In his first term, Trump criticized the project and withheld a billion dollars in federal aid. However, when President Joe Biden came into office, he opened the federal coffers and approved billions more despite well-documented mismanagement and dubious spending.
Trump is now pledging an investigation, which is long overdue. There is ample reason to suspect fraud and other possible violations in this multi-billion dollar boondoggle.
Indeed, this week, the inspector general, Benjamin Belnap, issued a scathing report on the first phase of still uncompleted project. That is only the stretch from Merced to Bakersfield which was supposed to be completed by 2033. Belnap wrote:
“With a smaller remaining schedule envelope and the potential for significant uncertainty and risk during subsequent phases of the project, staying within the 2033 schedule envelope is unlikely. In fact, uncertainty about some parts of the project has increased as the authority has recently made decisions that deviated from the procurement and funding strategies that were part of its plans for staying on schedule.”
The Merced-Bakersfield line alone would now cost $35.3 billion, more than the 2008 projection for a complete system.
California Democrats have continued to throw money at the project without making meaningful changes on the overruns and delays. There is currently only $28.7 billion in state bonds left.
The inefficiency of the project has been raised for years. Even if completed, the system would reduce auto travel by 10 million miles a day in a state where citizens drive a billion miles a day. As noted by Cal Matters, “A 10 million-mile reduction would ostensibly cut emissions by scarcely 1%.” It added:
Logically, spending emission auction money on more direct carbon reduction programs, such as reducing emission-spewing wildfires, would make more sense.
The current estimate for linking San Francisco with Southern California is $107 billion. Officials don’t even know how to fully finance Merced-Bakersfield, much less raise the other $72.4 billion they would need.
Both a federal investigation and a cessation of funding are long overdue. It is time to bite the bullet. California has every right to spend over $100 billion during budget deficits, but the rest of the country should not subsidize it.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
The bullet train is shooting blanks.
# California taxpayers didn’t dodge that bullet.
Jonathan: You say there is currently $4.3 billion in unspent federal funds for the California high-speed rail project. You think “Trump should seek to claw back the money”. Wouldn’t that be illegal?
The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 provides that once Congress allocates funds for any projects the President can’t unilaterally impound those funds. The Act has been upheld by the courts. As a legal scholar are you suggesting DJT violate the law?
Just today House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled a plan to extend $4.5 trillion in tax cuts to wealthy billionaires and corporations–all by cutting Medicaid and other important programs. All while giving another $100 billion to the war profiteers and another $90 billion to DHS to round up more immigrants.
$4.3 billion is chump change compared to the trillions in tax give aways to DJT, Musk and their billionaire buddies. If you’re serious about cutting federal spending why not start there?
No legislation by the legislative branch that usurps the power of the executive branch is constitutional.
A transfer of executive power from the executive branch to the legislative branch would require a constitutional amendment.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Article II, Section 1
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.
“The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 provides that once Congress allocates funds for any projects the President can’t unilaterally impound those funds.”
As written it is unconstitutional.
” The Act has been upheld by the courts.”
Incorrect – the courts have upheld Congresses control over the purse.
The President can not substitute his spending wishes for those of congress.
That does NOT force the president to fund waste and fraud.
“As a legal scholar are you suggesting DJT violate the law?”
No[pe, and if Congress beleives that the president is not reigning in waste and fraud but thwarting their priorities they are free to go to court ,
and the court will with near certainty side with congress.
But NO ONE but congress has standing. And if congress chooses not to challenge the president – then the presidents choices are constitutional and legal.
As noted above – the impoundment act as you are interpetting it – and possibly as written is unconstitutional.
The president is obligated to deliver the goods and services that Congress has dictated by law – without spending MORE than congress has allocated. But the claim that the president can not spend LESS is nonsense.
“Just today House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled a plan to extend $4.5 trillion in tax cuts to wealthy billionaires and corporations”
Yes, We are STILL above the revenue optimizing maximum tax rate. Cancleling the tax cuts – contrary to left wing nuts will COST the country tax revenue and will HARM the economy.
Or are you one of those idiots that think if the tax tate is 100% the government will take 100% of GDP in revenue ?
Christine Romer – Obama’s Cheif Economc advisor – did research establising that taxes on income greater than approximately 33% resulted in REDUCED govenrment Revenue. Other economists found that the growth maximizing level of govenrment is 15-25% of GDP,
And other studies have found that for every 10% of GDP that government spends above 20% – the rate of improvement in standard of living declines by 1%
“all by cutting Medicaid”
Back to lying.
Though I would note that PRELIMINARY DOGE finding have SS, Medicaid, Medicare waste and FRaud at a MINIMUM of $50B/year and more likly $250B. This is NOT the benefits to ordinary people – this is money the federal government is paying to people who do not exist, Or who are illegal immigrants or who are not even in the country.
This BTW should tell you EXACTLY why your legal scholars are WRONG.
When congress chose to fund SS or any other program they did NOT require the president to disperse those funds to Frauds.
Are you honestly so stupid that you beleive that Congress has obligated the Treasury to dispurse social security to dead people, or ones who were never alive ?
“other important programs.”
There is no federal program more important than the fiscal survival of the nation.
You have a choice – the cuts Trump wants now, or cuts like those of Milei in argentina in the near future,
or cutting everything when we run out of money and can not borrow.
“All while giving another $100 billion to the war profiteers”
We have listened to those of you on the left DEMAND that we send hundreds of billions to Ukraine.
no one beleives your sudden concern about war profiteers.
DOGE is headed into DoD. We will see what happens – hopefully we can get BOTH the defense we want AND cut defense spending.
“another $90 billion to DHS to round up more immigrants.”
That is less than FEMA spent to keep them here.
“$4.3 billion is chump”
You have to start somewhere. Trump is NOT just cutting the CA boondoggle that should have died long ago.
He is cutting DOD, DOE, USAID, Treasury – everywhere he finds waste and Fraud.
There is litterally over 500B in yearly spending on agencies that Congress failed to reauthorize – many have not been authorized for decades.
Agencies that Congress has not authroized to exist can not spend money.
In the few short weeks DOGE has been operating it has found nearly a Trillion in Wasteful spending and fraud.
“change compared to the trillions in tax give aways”
There are exactly $0 in tax giveaways. Reducing taxes is NOT the same as reducing tax revenue.
“If you’re serious about cutting federal spending why not start there”
Because raising taxes is not cutting spending – and it is not even raising revenue.
Dennis,
Do you think it might be helpful to seek additional sources of information? Perhaps consider a hobby or have a rational, information based conversation with someone that does not include the current President of the United States?
Regarding the high speed rail. One of my family members is a journeyman industrial electrician who has worked on many huge jobs with thousands of workers. He can tell horror stories about waste, absenteeism and sabotage. He has worked on the DART rapid rail system in the DFW area and said it was run very well.
He would like to work for DOGE as he has years of personal experience on government projects where 75% of the employees are redundant and basically worthless.
The same judge who paused the Trump federal buyout programs just revoked his prior orders – the Program can go ahead.
Why – because the labor unions do not have standing to sue.
The federal buyout program was one of the FEW Trump EO’s that someone other than congress MIGHT have standing.
Expect other lawsuits to suffer the same fate.
Congress and Congress alone has the power to challenge Trump’s efforts to weed out Fraud and waste.
There does not seem to be any effort by congress to sue Trump.
Most of these other lawsuits are Dead.
His next move is pink slips due to bankruptcy?
According to former Obama WH staffers – they Tried to shutdown some of the Programs Trump is gunning for, … and failed.
No, because iirc the federal funds were conditioned upon completing the project with a deadline. That deadline died, was buried, rotted away, and had a strip mall built over it. CA is out of control. Democrats are the cause.
Dennis SmackInTire, your comments are such pearls of wisdom, veracity, and integrity. This isn’t true on this planet, of course. But in Bizarro World, that’s what they say about you.
The president has the executive power.
The judicial branch has the judicial power.
The president has the military power should any branch presume to usurp his executive power.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Article II, Section 1
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Article III, Section 1
The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Article II, Section 2
The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States…
What the hell, it’s only money? As Obama said, I got a printing press.
Practically nobody would buy a ticket to go on a ‘bullet’ train from Bakersfield to Merced. It’s only about 160 miles, a two hour drive and you would have your own car to drive when you got there. It would take longer than that just to get to the station, check in, board the train get to a seat and then go.
This isn’t very far from the actual Teapot Dome but it is a much bigger scandal.
If Congress taxes for a project in California that is not debt, defense, or general welfare, and the bullet train is federally funded, how will federal taxpayers from other states enjoy the fruits of their labor, oh, and taxes?
Just the merits or losses of this project would seem to argue against it continuing. An old military goal is to reinforce success and starve defeat. This might have been a reasonable project at one time but it seems to have gone “off the rails” both in concept, cost, management and possibly corruption. I would drop the rest of the invective and just remove the federal dollars from the project and let the people of California decide on it’s demise or support. They don’t seem to be inclined to listen anyway. Let them figure it out.
Distance from LA to SF is 380 miles, not 171, so not sure where that number came from. Agree with the article overall, though.
Yep, idiot republicans can’t tell the difference between fake and real.
Oregon’s Senate Republican leader shared debunked claims from a social media parody account about federal government spending in a state-issued email newsletter decrying “fear-mongering and misinformation.”
ATS – when have you told the truth ? Why should anyone beleive you.
you provide no sourcing or detail that can be checked at all.
Why should you be trusted ?
The project to build a bullet train from Los Angeles to ***Sacramento*** is an outrageous example of a public work that lacked any fiscal responsibility or oversight from the state government
===
It was San Francisco, not Sacramento. Doesn’t change the fact this was the boondoggle fraud of a lifetime. Only ONE person wanted it, our one and only idiot Gov Moonbeam, aka Jerry Brown.
“We do find it sort of rather odd that, you know, there are quite a few people in the bureaucracy who have, ostensibly, a salary of a few hundred thousand dollars but somehow managed to accrue tens of millions of dollars in net worth,” Musk said.
How the hell does trump know what the net worth of government employees is? Did he look at personnel files?
No problem, just a rich guy buying his way into government to get richer.
Fawni Willis
What do you think that your boss in any company does not have access to your personal file ?
Are you a complete idiot ?
Members of Congress as well as many political appointees in the Executive Judicial branches must file annual financial reports, as vague as they are. These reports are public documents and are easily accessed. Do your homework before befooling yourself again.
Looks like the California DEM’s have a ‘High Speed Train to Nowhere’.
That’s where communism ends up.
Just ask the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Russia, oh, and Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, and the folks in Tienanmen Square, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Taiwan, et al., China.
Or an equally outrageous “Big Dig”!!
I would gladly trade with Denmark, California for Greenland.
There is a God:
Apparently, abuse of power, and conspiracy and subversion of federal laws, the federal government, and the Constitution, may be illegal.
“Attorney General Pam Bondi sued New York on Wednesday over the state’s sanctuary policies, saying they are jeopardizing Americans’ safety. She named Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James and Mark Schroder. Bondi is also examining ‘federal cooperation with the weaponization’ by Leticia James and Alvin Bragg, ‘their respective staffs, and other New York officials to target President Trump, his family, and his businesses.’”
– NPR
Talk about corruption and quid pro quo—King Donald ordered stripper hair to dismiss WITHOUT PREJUDICE, the criminal case against Eric Adams in exchange for Adams cooperating with deportations in NYC. If Adams doesn’t fully cooperate, stripper hair will reinstate the criminal case—-that’s why the dismissal was WITHOUT PREJUDICE.
Pardons are not supposed to be used for political leverage. But King Donald threw out the rule book.
So far there have been 50 lawsuits filed against the King.
Oh, and military families at a base in Germany publicly demonstrated against heavily-tattooed Hegseth, who had them photographed—probably for retribution.
Then there’s Real President Muskrat who is targeting agencies that are investigating him and his companies.
King Donald ordered stripper hair not to investigate or prosecute foreign bribery cases.
Turls will ignore all of this and use his platform to criticize some college for not kissing up to MAGA losers or to find some way to criticize Democrats.
Gigi, the TDS is getting much worse. If you are so deeply offended – move to canada.
The insults are stupid. Bondi has had a very successful carreer. She certainly has a better CV than Garland before becoming AG.
” Real President Muskrat who is targeting agencies that are investigating him and his companies.”
No he is targing all government agencies.
# she’s not Barr nor Jeff Sessions…
A competent new President would start by seeing to it that the rich pay their fair share of taxes (e.g., 10% or less on all personal earned income and 90% or more on all personal non-disability, non-retirement unearned income). Instead: ‘Humpty Trumpty sat on a wall; Humpty Trumpty had a great fall; all the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put America back together again.’
It is inherently unfair to differentiate taxpayers.
The “poor” must pay their fair share of taxes, get a —-ing job, pull their —-ing weight, contribute to the public good, and stop leeching as useless parasites.
The idle rich created the poor and it’s inherently unconstitutional to give an idle rich minority a free ride on the backs of the working-class majority. The Reagan ‘trickle-down-economics’ segment of the smoke-and-mirrors game the two major parties keep playing has naturally turned into a national ‘scum-slide’ and no amount of business as usual is going to stop its flow. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely and in politics money is power. Pull the plug on the rich and the bribes and corruption will eventually end, albeit not necessarily in time to save our once great constitutional America.
While of course everyone should pay their fair share, if your point is about competency in restoring fiscal sanity (and it is), what Trump is doing is far more effective than what you suggest, which would only have a comparatively tiny effect.
The next piece, after stopping the grossly wasteful burning of literally hundreds if billions of dollars, is to grow the economy at no less than 4 or 5 percent annually. And that will definitely be DOGE’s next priority.
No. That will be the endeavor and priority of free enterprises, in free industries, in the free markets of the private sector, having absolutely nothing to do with “government” and in the complete absence of unconstitutional governmental interference, as the American Founders and Framers intended and codified.
Here’s another lie King Donald and MAGA media keep telling— that pathetic bleached strumpet he calls”press secretary” held up a chart showing how the King canceled DEI training programs, along with the amount of money allocated for each of them —claiming that this proves that the King has been successful in eliminating “fraud, waste and abuse”.
The King may want to eliminate DEI programs as a change in policy, but that doesn’t make these programs inherently fraudulent, wasteful or abusive. But they sold the King based on the lie that he would immediately bring down grocery prices, so the morons will fall for this lie too. And the stupid bleached strumpet can’t or won’t answer questions either.
Shouldn’t you be emptying your drool cup?
“There is currently $4.3 billion in unspent federal funds for California’s high-speed rail project,…”
– Professor Turley
_____________________
Let’s review.
Congress cannot fund a railroad in California.
Article 1, Section 8, provides Congress the power to tax for Debt, Defense, and “general Welfare.”
General is all, or the whole, well proceed.
General is not one, some, or a few; it is not individual welfare, specific welfare, particular welfare, favor, or charity.
Oh, and by the way, Medicare and Social Security cover only 18.7% of the population, which is not even close to general, all, or the whole.
The entire communist American welfare state is unconstitutional.
If it’s done in America, it must be done in the free markets of the private sector.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Article 1, Section 8
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States;
The singular American failure is the judicial branch, with emphasis on the Supreme Court.
You want for Trump what Putin has in Russia, courts that are rubber stamp for whatever the dear leader desires.
Those 2 words “general welfare” are the hole the liberals chose to drive a train through and which the Supremes during the 30’s allowed when FDR threatened to pack the court ro get his way. High time this hole was closed and maybe Trump gifted us the court brave enough to do so.
The entire communist American welfare state is unconstitutional including, but not limited to, admissions affirmative action, grade-inflation affirmative action, employment affirmative action, quotas, welfare, food stamps, minimum wage, rent control, social services, forced busing, public housing, utility subsidies, CRT, DEI, WIC, SNAP, TANF, HAMP, HARP, TARP, NPR, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Environmental Protection Agency, Agriculture, Education, Labor, Energy, Obamacare, Social Security, Social Security Disability, Social Security Supplemental Income, Medicare, Medicaid, “Fair Housing” laws, “Non-Discrimination” laws, etc.
Article 1, Section 8, provides Congress the power to tax for ONLY debt, defense, and “general Welfare” – ALL or THE WHOLE WELL PROCEED through governmental provision of security and basic infrastructure – omitting and, thereby, excluding any power to tax for individual Welfare, specific Welfare, particular Welfare, favor or charity.
The same Article enumerates and provides Congress the power to regulate ONLY the Value of money, Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian Tribes, and land and naval Forces.
Further, the 5th Amendment right to private property was initially qualified by the Framers and is, therefore, absolute, allowing no further qualification, and allowing ONLY the owner the power to “claim and exercise” dominion over private property.
Government exists, under the Constitution and Bill of Rights, to provide maximal freedom to individuals while government itself is severely limited and restricted to facilitating that maximal freedom of individuals through the provision of security and infrastructure.
The Necessary and Proper Clause is nothing more than a perfunctory redundancy for the purposes of clarification—a reinforcement of that which was previously codified—and may not be wielded to amend and impose separate acts that do not represent but alter the letter and spirit of the Founders and Framers.
I do hope you don’t drive an any public roadways. Those roads are part of the general welfare.
Ronald Regan use to say if you can find it in the yellow pages, the government shouldn’t be buying it for you.
With Trump and Musk driving U.S. policy, Kansas farmers have been played for suckers
https://kansasreflector.com/2025/02/12/with-trump-and-musk-driving-u-s-policy-kansas-farmers-have-been-played-for-suckers/
Ben Palen, a fifth generation Kansas farmer, has some thoughts. Brief excerpts of his comments are below.
Many farmers voted for Trump because he promised less regulation and greater prosperity for America’s farmers. The hard truth is that, like most of the folks who voted for Trump, farmers failed to do their homework about the reality of the new administration.
We have an unelected multibillionaire, who in effect bought the Trump presidency, now running amok in Washington. On the one hand, we see unprecedented efforts by some entity called DOGE to slash government spending without the advice and consent of the Congress, and on the other we hear some of Trump’s cronies promise aid for farmers. The two cannot be squared. Setting aside your political views, this is an unprecedented assault on the Constitution and the separation of powers.
USAID buys about $2 billion dollars of US farm products annually. USAID is being dismantled by this dodgy group. To his credit, Sen. Jerry Moran has spoken loudly about this travesty. Others must do the same, or our political and economic competitors will fill the gap.
My fellow farmers — you’ve been played. This nation cannot exist as an island. But that is the path that this administration is on, and the onus is on responsible folks from all political persuasions to find common ground to stop this madness.
Farmers, are you listening? These fundamental questions go to the heart of our democracy. From what we have seen this far, this nation is on a path that is at odds with our established role in the world, and the economic and social consequences could be unprecedented.
I would think the good folks in CA would love a DOGE to expose who is getting that money.
The $$$ is going to union labor, who in turn kick a portion of it back to the legislature, who gave them the labor. Legal money laundering, and bribery.
So, one of the activist judges has a wife who gets USAID money!
The train would basically serve hillbillies in the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys.
Seriously? You just said that?
Those “hillbillies” would be paletos y paletas and other foreign illegal alien invaders in California.
60 Years living in CA. Moving in 2 years. Will they charge me for moving????
Good riddance.
Says the illegal alien foreign invader.
How dumb.
Parasites usually are.