Politics
‘Newscum Scam’: Trump Slashes $4 Billion From California Rail Project
By Jake Beardslee · July 17, 2025
President Donald Trump has announced the cancellation of federal funding for California’s high-speed rail project, escalating his ongoing feud with Governor Gavin Newsom. In a post on Truth Social Wednesday, Trump claimed he had “officially freed” taxpayers from the controversial project, describing it as a “Newscum SCAM” and a “HIGH SPEED TRAIN TO NOWHERE.”
“This boondoggle, led by the incompetent Governor of California, Gavin Newscum, has cost Taxpayers Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we have received NOTHING in return except Cost Overruns,” Trump wrote.
The decision affects approximately $4 billion in federal funding, including a $3.1 billion grant issued during President Biden’s administration and a $929 million grant initially awarded under President Obama in 2010. Trump had previously revoked the Obama-era funds in 2019, but they were reinstated in 2021 by Biden.
Governor Newsom condemned the move, calling it a “gift to China” and a direct blow to the state’s infrastructure ambitions. “Trump wants to hand China the future and abandon the Central Valley. We won’t let him,” Newsom said in a statement. “We’re now in the track-laying phase and building America’s only high-speed rail. California is putting all options on the table to fight this illegal action.”
The funding cut follows a June report by the Federal Railroad Administration criticizing the project for persistent delays and cost overruns. The state was given 30 days to respond, with a warning that federal support could be withdrawn.
Initially approved by voters in 2008, the bullet train was pitched as a transformative line linking San Francisco and Los Angeles in under three hours by 2020. Now, the project has been dramatically scaled back, with current plans limited to a Central Valley route between the smaller cities of Merced and Bakersfield. Projected costs have ballooned from $33 billion to $128 billion.
According to Newsom’s office, no tracks have been laid yet, but 171 miles are under development. Of that, 119 miles are under active construction, and 52 major structures have been completed.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy defended the decision, stating: “This is California’s fault. Governor Newsom and the complicit Democrats have enabled this waste for years. Federal dollars are not a blank check—they come with a promise to deliver results.”
Newsom fired back on X (formerly Twitter), writing: “Won’t be taking advice from the guy who can’t keep planes in the sky”—an apparent jab at repeated air travel disruptions under Duffy’s leadership.