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One of the elevated sections of the high-speed train under construction in Fresno, California, observed in 2017. The Trump administration announced Thursday that it would withdraw federal funding from the multi-billion dollar project .
Rich Pedroncelli / AP
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Rich Pedroncelli / AP
One of the elevated sections of the high-speed train under construction in Fresno, California, observed in 2017. The Trump administration announced Thursday that it would withdraw federal funding from the multi-billion dollar project .
Rich Pedroncelli / AP
The Trump administration says it is ending a federal deal with the California high-speed rail project and is cutting nearly $ 1 billion in funding, opening a new legal battle between California and Washington.
In a statement released Thursday, the Federal Railroad Administration said that California had "repeatedly failed to comply" with the agreement and "failed to progress reasonably in the project".
He adds that the state has "abandoned its initial vision of a high-speed passenger rail service connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles, which was essential for its applications for FRA grant funding". The statement also said that FRA was still exploring "all options" to recover 2.5 billion federal dollars already granted by the state for the project.
In a statement released on Thursday, Governor Gavin Newsom called the cessation of "political retribution", "illegal" and "direct assault against California".
California Governor Gavin Newsom receives applause after delivering his first State of the State address. In this speech, he announced his intention to reduce the California high-speed rail project and immediately focus on building 171 km of track in central California.
Rich Pedroncelli / AP
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Rich Pedroncelli / AP
California Governor Gavin Newsom receives applause after delivering his first State of the State address. In this speech, he announced his intention to reduce the California high-speed rail project and immediately focus on building 171 km of track in central California.
Rich Pedroncelli / AP
He argues that California has not abandoned its original high-speed rail vision, although cost increases and delays have already led the state to resize the project – currently estimated at 77 percent. , $ 3 billion.
But Newsom was not supportive in his State of the State address in February, when he said that "for the moment, there is simply no way to go from Sacramento to San Diego, let alone San Francisco to LA "
Newsom asked the California High-Rail Rail Authority to focus on train traffic in the Central Valley.
Even without the $ 929 million federal funding that the Trump administration today announced as "derelict", the High Rail Rail Authority estimates that it will always have enough money to complete the expanded Central Valley segment – provided that Auction revenues are performing well.
The move from the Trump administration is not a surprise. Federal officials had already stopped cooperating with the state well before Newsom's remarks.
Newsom took a provocative tone in his statement on Thursday.
"It's California money, appropriated by Congress, and we're going to vigorously defend it in court," he said.
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