California has dropped a lawsuit that sought to reinstate federal money for the state’s long-delayed high-speed rail project, according to the California High-Speed Rail Authority.
The lawsuit, filed after U.S. Transportation Department funding cuts, challenged the federal government’s withdrawal of $4 billion tied to California’s plan for a bullet train connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles. The cuts included money for a major segment of the project, according to the rail authority’s account of the decision.
The authority said the decision to abandon the case reflects its assessment of the Trump administration and the Transportation Department as an unreliable partner. “This action reflects the State’s assessment that the federal government is not a reliable, constructive, or trustworthy partner in advancing high-speed rail in California,” an authority spokesperson said in a statement.
The authority said it would shift its strategy toward other financing options rather than continue litigating for the federal funds. In a statement, the rail authority said the move offers “a new opportunity,” and it pointed to using “proven global best practices” drawn from “modern high-speed rail systems around the world.”
The dispute was also shaped by the Trump administration’s broader criticism of the project. In July, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that “The Railroad we were promised still does not exist, and never will,” adding that the project had been “Severely Overpriced, Overregulated, and NEVER DELIVERED.”
The rail authority’s lawsuit was filed following the Transportation Department’s decision, which officials said was based on the authority’s alleged lack of a viable plan. The authority previously cited the decision as political, with Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom describing the funding cut as “a political stunt to punish California,” according to the Associated Press reporting that covered the case’s filing.
While federal funding was being contested, the rail authority said it would continue seeking private investment. It also pointed to a state funding stream that it recently received: $1 billion in annual funding from California’s cap-and-trade program through 2045, a program described in the Associated Press story as setting a declining limit on emissions from major polluters and routing money to climate and transportation projects.
In the Associated Press report, the Transportation Department did not respond to a request for comment about the shift, and the report said the rail authority’s decision to drop the lawsuit came as the project moves ahead with its other planned financing routes.