Feb 20, 2019 - Technology

Trump admin. says it will cancel $929 million for California rail project

California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Photo: Scott Varley/MediaNews Group/Daily Breeze via Getty Images

The Transportation Department said Tuesday it intends to cancel $929 million in federal grant funds for California's scaled-back high-speed rail network, and that it is "actively exploring every legal option" to take back $2.5 billion in funds already given to the state for the project.

The big picture: Last week, California's newly elected Gov. Gavin Newsom disputed Trump's claim that California owes the federal government $3.5 billion for scaling back its plans to build an estimated $77 billion high-speed train from San Francisco to Los Angeles, saying the money was allocated by Congress. In a new statement, Newsom said: "This is clear political retribution by President Trump, and we won’t sit idly by. This is California’s money, and we are going to fight for it.”

  • Newsom also noted: "It’s no coincidence that the Administration’s threat comes 24 hours after California led 16 states in challenging the President’s farcical ‘national emergency.’"

Go deeper: California's $77 billion derailment

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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 11 a.m. ET: 19,680,042 — Total deaths: 727,777 — Total recoveries — 11,962,565 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 11 a.m. ET: 5,002,523 — Total deaths: 162,455 — Total recoveries: 1,643,118 — Total tests: 61,080,587 — Map.
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