California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been frantically trying to restart a presidential campaign that appears moribund, with polls showing him losing in some states to figures such as Pete Buttigieg and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In his absence, his multibillion-dollar high-speed train also seems to be going nowhere fast. A new report from the state inspector general revealed that the train will be delayed again and that the public is being kept in the dark about ongoing problems with Newsom’s signature project. Oh, and one more thing: the project will run out of money by December 2027.
Benjamin Belnap’s report revealed the project is again running out of money. Missing details in the project’s 2026 business plan, and concluded that the project will again be out of money by next year.
The state has already spent $18 billion, but it will need at least another $ 18 billion to finish the first segment. It could take roughly $200 billion more actually to complete the original San Francisco-to-Los Angeles line.
Even with billions more, the current segment will not be completed until 2034.
Voters approved a $9.95 billion bond issue in 2008 under Newsom’s predecessor after absurdly low cost estimates. Newsom has been a champion of the project. Influential figures and companies stood to make a fortune, and the key was to secure a “buy-in” worth billions, so that it would become increasingly difficult to abandon the project as overruns and delays sent costs soaring.
Now the official estimate of future ridership has dropped by 25%, and it demands billions more to complete a project delayed by decades. Remember that this entire project was meant to create a rail line of only 171 miles.
One would think that the California voters would be marching to the capital with pitchforks and torches over such breathtaking incompetence and waste. However, they appear to have been conditioned to accept the lowest level of performance from their public officials.
The response of Democratic leaders is crushingly predictable: they are pledging to seek a federal bailout to cover their own incompetence. The Democratic nominee for governor, Xavier Becerra, is promising to fight to get back federal funds that were cut off by the Trump Administration. While promising to seriously review any problems in the project (as if they are not obvious), no one has been held accountable for this financial train wreck. Instead, all Democrats can do is demand that citizens around the country help bail out their boondoogle.
Yet, the Inspector General is describing a failure of leadership where no one is making any real decisions:
“Exploration of specific financing mechanisms is a positive step, but because the Authority might run out of funding as soon as December 2027, and the financing strategy the Authority uses has the potential to significantly affect the amount of interest it will need to repay, the Authority and state lawmakers have little time for delay in deciding upon a strategy and implementing it.”
Belknap indicated that those in control are simply shrugging off the problem, noting that “[b]ecause the Authority has thus far not demonstrated a willingness to establish and reinforce a process that ensures accuracy and transparency in project reporting, we have directed our report recommendations to the Board.”
In the meantime, the state will continue to creep along with a project that is sucking billions into a project that has become a national disgrace. Beccera’s pledge to seek bailouts shows that the problem remains the political culture in California. There is little accountability left in a one-party state where companies and individuals have made fortunes off this debacle. The only people being taken for a ride are Californian citizens and it is not the ride that they bargained for.
Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”
I love that well-known photo accompanying the article. Newscum standing by already and long existing track and rolling stock.
18 billion? Gosh. Can’t imagine just where the money went. 🤔 Graft and govt theft anyone?
Gavin Newsom will Runaway, as he always does.
Gov. Newsom’s Escape Plan activates in:
141 days
3398 hours
203928 minutes
12235681 seconds
until Monday, January 4, 2027 (Brownsville time)
https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/to?msg=Gov Newsom’s Escape Plan&year=2027&month=1&day=4&hour=0&min=0&sec=0&fromtheme=birthday
The ceiling of government competence is set by the floor of citizens’ capacity for self-government.
Well if this is not Newsom’s project, then , as Governor, Why has he not pushed the Legislature to end the project? Or put it on the ballot and have the citizens of the state end the project. At least that way we won’t have to listen to stories of it anymore and move on.
GEB: Because why should he cut the citizen’s losses when he can continue to use their money, that is, other people’s money, to support construction unions, companies, and workers that will donate gobs of money to his campaign, and to Democrats, in order to continue the grift that the willfully blind electorate refuses to see?
California “will continue to creep along with a project that is sucking billions . . .” (JT)
Phase 1: SF to LA. Phase 2: Extensions to Sacramento and San Diego. Initial cost estimate: Some $30 billion. Current projected cost: Some $230 billion ($200 billion more!). Approved by *vote* in 2008. *18* years later — not a single train.
There, writ large, is the efficiency of the Left’s “democratic” socialism.
California’s version of The Big Dig. One ginormous boondoggle plagued by delays measured in years if not decades; cost overruns that ultimately reach 10x the original estimates, etc.
But in the end the Democrats train and the Big Dig served their purpose: to enrich favored contractors and others while the “benefit” to the public in no way can be justified using a standard cost/benefit analysis.
One point – the Big Dig was finished, the train never will be.
Good.
At one point it will be finished if another dem-o-rat gets into the W/H But the cost will be VERY high.
WHAT? Dems are grifters?
Say it ain’t so, Jon!
Here’s the part that gets me. In July 2025, the Trump administration pulled roughly $4 billion in federal funding after concluding California had failed to meet its obligations and no longer had a credible path forward. California sued to get the money back. Then it missed another major milestone, its own December 2025 deadline for awarding the train contract, and later that month dropped the lawsuit.
Forget the politics for a minute. At what point do missed milestones actually mean something? If government can miss deadline after deadline, blow through the original cost and schedule, materially change what voters approved, and still keep the project alive, then there really are no milestones. This is exactly why projects like this need sunset clauses. Miss the critical benchmarks, the authorization ends. If you want to continue, go back and make the case again.
“At what point do missed milestones actually mean something?”
Ask the DSA’s forebears, the Soviets. They were infamous for a never-ending series of “five-year” plans — some 13 of them, right up until communism collapsed.
Forget the politics for a minute. At what point do missed milestones actually mean something?
hubris. I’ve never understood the fascination with CA. From attending medical conferences in La Jolla to Wine Country, I didn’t experience the “glow” of CA nor any warmth from the people I met. All I picked up was hubris on behalf of locals. Walking around in SF (stayed at the Sir Francis Drake as it was known in those days) was menacing with the aggressive homeless folks. Visiting Balboa Park was less than fun. Seeing the seals were my peak experience from afar at La Jolla. I sense that something is not firing within me when it comes to CA, but with all that I read about CA politics, nothing surprises me given it’s CA. It’s hubris all the way down. Perhaps you can change my mind. I may be attending a conference in SD in March. Perhaps we can connect as time allows. I would be renting a car. I sure would enjoy meeting a non-crazy in CA
Cheers
Estovir, I won’t try to change your mind. California isn’t for everyone, and you’ve certainly seen enough of it to form an opinion. But if you make it to San Diego in March, let me know. I’d genuinely enjoy meeting you, and maybe I can show you a little of the California you haven’t experienced yet. At the very least, you’ll have met one of the non-crazies. 🙂
Born in S.F. in 50 and lived there until 2015, i got to experience a lot of the good and left when the bad had really taken hold. Most of the glory of CA is in it’s natural resources, the ocean, Big Sur, Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia National Park and the Avenue of the Giants. If you get out of the cities to the small towns, especially on the east side of the Sierras or along the coast, that are not silicone effected it can be nice as well as the people. Be low key and walk around trying to blend in. The small eclectic surf community where i spend 30+ years was like that. Neighbors stopped their cars and visited, people joined or went around. Then silicone found out and started coming up and honking and flipping off the locals. i moved.
Newsom spent $18 billion? Who got the money, and what did they do for it?
Has anyone estimated what will be the cost of a ticket to ride this train, without continued government subsidies, that will permit its cost of construction to break even? Maybe that will shake up the heads of California voters. The estimated ticket cost should be integral to any argument for, or against, a federal bailout.
Having voted no on this in 2008 i have a clear conscience compared to those that voted for the waste and abuse. That is if they have any conscience. The people and groups that are benefitting is obvious. Politicians from union donations, union members votes, union bosses, union contractors and then the union employees.
As an example, the state has what is called prevailing wage. They gather the information from union employers and that sets prevailing wage for any state contracts for construction projects. There was one project that was put up for bid to paint a portion of the state capitol. A non union contractor totally qualified, bonded and insured, bid on the project using prevailing wage. IIRC he was 25% lower than the closest union contractor. The union contractor got the job. As this became the norm, non union contractors stopped bidding on projects as it was determined to be a waste of time. So all contracts which have few if any accountability clauses go to the unions at ever increasing rates.
Now the SEIU health care workers are pushing for the wealth tax so that the state can cover the supposed cuts in health care by the feds. Of course the shortage of $ has nothing to do with fraud or covering non citizens. To me it is quite obvious that the amount collected will not be enough as the cost of healthcare wages rise and taxpayers move the shortage will come again as will a new tax until there is no more of other peoples $.
And when will there be a complete forensic investigation as to where every single penny was spent? Until that happens, we are going to continue mistrusting the very institutions upon which this nation is built. Our federal, state, and local government bureaucracies are geared to camouflage corruption, fraud and graft should it be to their own improvement by way of pork and preferential treatment of persons in places of influence. The question is who will clean house? Not the entrenched bureaucracy that facilitates this with a blind eye.
#. Sell it to a private entity and reclaim a few bucks. An audit of whose pockets the money is in is in order?
Why is Turley persisting with this completely false narrative that the California rail project is “Newsom’s signature project” ??
Rhetorical question , of course.
Turley has been ordered by his MAGA overlords to pound this false narrative.
The rail project was enacted by Republican governor Pete Wilson in 1996, when Newsom was only 29 years old, and had no political activities. It was further pushed by Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who put it on the ballot as Proposition 1A.
Newsom never supported the project that started before he entered politics. He is on record as opposing it, and has tried to reduce the size and scope of the project. He has been unable to stop it because the empowering legislation is still in effect. The original High-Speed Rail Act passed in 1996 remains active and is codified under California Public Utilities Code § 185000-185012. It can only be stopped by the Legislature.
Newsom has taken the position that the project is badly mismanaged, but it is worth saving in a reduced form so that the money already spent is not completely wasted.
Turley’s obsession with labeling the project as “Newsom’s signature project” is patently absurd.
Newsom inherited the project from two Republican governors, and has always been highly critical of its objectives and cost.
You know if you stand in the bathroom, look in the mirror, and say MAGA ten times Trump will appear in your bathroom and via black magic turn you into a MAGA zombie rending you unable to think, which no one will notice given you don’t already.
He says it BECAUSE IT’S TRUE. Oily Newscum has drooled all over this project from the beginning, probably because it enriches his friends–or something. It’s a classic bright neon example of the sunk cost fallacy. I voted against it when it was on the ballot, knowing EXACTLY that this would happen. It’s POS losing sucking money hole that needs to stop–NOW. But, no, it will limp along. Maybe December 2027 is the end. I hope so.
“Newsom never supported the project . . . He is on record as opposing it . . .”
That’s obviously a lie:
“High speed rail is a key part of Governor Newsom’s build more, faster agenda delivering infrastructure upgrades and creating jobs throughout the state.” (Press release, July 2025)
https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/02/03/governor-newsom-announces-major-high-speed-rail-milestone-track-installation-to-begin/ Someone needs to tell Newsom that he’s against the project.
Welcome to socialism. We hope you enjoy your stay.
It is not coming out of their pocket and they want the Federal Government to bail them out for their incompetence. The voters have to be told the truth and vote these incompetents out of office and not continue with another incompetent democrat running for governor that will push for money to complete this billion dollar stupidity. But this is California.
But Gavin is just SOOO dreamy… I’m still glad I voted for him
Excellent sarc.
Newsom and company-and the high speed rail- have given us a muscular re-understanding of P.T. Barnum: “This way to the Egress.”
Eventually, as intelligent people mature and grow in experience, they realize that the purpose of plans proposed by the far left is to transfer money to favored special interest groups (in exchange for campaign contributions and an army of volunteers) and consolidate power for leftwing politicians. Whether it’s high-speed rail that never arrives, or electric vehicle charging stations that are never built, or fast and free buses that remain invisible, or low-cost grocery stores that require subsidies for substandard fare, or free healthcare for everyone that is subpar at best, eventually these schemes and promises crash into the rocky shoals of reality. By that time, the new promises are made and votes long ago cast. The damage is done. And the beat goes on.
“to transfer money to favored special interest groups (in exchange for campaign contributions and an army of volunteers) and consolidate power ” and you think only left wingers do that? Gawd, you are criminality stupid.
Name a single red state that is as corrupt and bankrupt as California. Just one.
Interesting challenge!
Gawd is a new word that Anonymous just picked up from this site a few days ago. Are you related to X/georgie?
No, but they have raised it to an art form for an entire party from just single unscrupulous individuals. 4000 donations via Act Blue from a old women in a trailer, yup, corporate level.
Thanks for the entertainment.
With all government spending we never see who actually winds up with the money. They say they will run out of money again in ‘27 but nothing is being done. Where’s the money going? What is there to show for it? Who’s getting paid to do what? These are simple questions that never get answered.
Someone so smart and articulate should not be Anonymous
Morning you filthy maggots.