California Sues Trump Administration To Keep Funding For State Bullet Train

After passing a vote for funding in 2008, California’s planned bullet train has had plenty of trouble getting off the ground. Questions have circled the project overestimated costs, adding to tensions that have existed between California and the Trump administration.

The tensions have ramped up even further after the administration attempted to pull the plug on the project.

The original agreement would have seen California receive $929 million in funding for the bullet train. It did require that the state complete a 119-mile segment of the rail through the state’s agricultural areas and proper environmental work by 2022.

Tensions over the rail funding started to bubble over in February after California sued the federal government for challenging Trump’s emergency border declaration. Trump took to Twitter to compare the cost of the bullet train to his long-desired wall, claiming the train was more expensive.

It was then announced on May 16 that the Trump administration would be terminating its agreement with California for the high-speed rail. This means California would not receive nearly $1 billion in funding for the project.

But Gov. Gavin Newsom doesn’t appear to be taking this lying down.

California officially filed a lawsuit Tuesday at San Francisco’s U.S. District Court to block the federal government from pulling funding. Newsom said the move was illegal by Trump and it’s simply retribution for California pushing back against the administration’s immigration policies.

The state also announced its intent to file a temporary restraining order that would block the money from being attached to another project.

However, the Federal Railroad Administration claims that California won’t be able to hit the original 2022 deadline.