California’s Bullet Train to Bankruptcy

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Newsom’s Stubborn Boondoggle Rides On

California’s high-speed rail disaster is the perfect exhibit of leftist hubris run amok. What started as a pie-in-the-sky dream in 2008 has morphed into a taxpayer-funded nightmare that’s sucked up billions, delivered zilch, and shows no signs of stopping. Voters got suckered into approving $9 billion in bonds for a $33 billion project that promised to zip folks from San Francisco to Los Angeles by 2020. Fast-forward to February 2026, and we’re staring at a bloated beast clocking in at up to $128 billion for the full shebang, with not a single mile of operational track to show for it. Governor Gavin Newsom, that slick-haired symbol of blue-state excess, keeps pumping this lemon like it’s the next big thing. Why? Because in his world, wasting your money on green fantasies and union payoffs beats admitting failure every time. Buckle up as we dissect this mess, from the epic overruns to the funding shell game, and figure out what keeps Slick Gav pushing this train wreck forward.

We’ve taken another critical step in the track-laying stage for California’s @CaHSRA high-speed rail! pic.twitter.com/qVYw7eJQbn

— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) February 4, 2026

The Epic Saga of Delays and Broken Promises

This fiasco kicked off with Proposition 1A in 2008, selling Californians on a gleaming bullet train network that would revolutionize travel. Original timeline: Done by 2020, connecting the Bay Area to LA in under three hours. Reality? We’re 18 years in, and the project’s shrunk to a pathetic 171-mile stub from Merced to Bakersfield—hardly the glamour route anyone signed up for. That segment alone won’t open until 2032 at the earliest, maybe 2033 if we’re lucky. And the full Phase 1 from San Francisco to LA/Anaheim? Don’t hold your breath—pushed back to 2038 or later, if it ever happens.

Construction’s been grinding away in the Central Valley since 2015, but progress is glacial. As of early 2026, 119 miles are under active construction, with over 80 miles of guideway complete and 58 structures like bridges finished, another 29 underway. They’ve got 16,400 jobs tied to it, peaking at 1,700 workers daily, and it’s generated $24.6 billion in economic impact—so they claim. But after a quarter-century and billions flushed, not one high-speed train is running. Legal battles, permitting snarls, and plain old incompetence have turned this into a perpetual motion machine of excuses. Recent floods in 2023 jacked up costs further, and now they’re floating wild ideas like rerouting to Yosemite to juice ridership—because nothing says “efficient transit” like detouring to a national park.

Gavin’s big reveal… NOTHING‼️

Not a single high-speed track is installed for Gavin Newsom’s TRAIN TO NOWHERE. A monstrous $135 BILLION price tag. And federal taxpayers spent $16 BILLION, for nothing.

Best of luck with your boondoggle @CAgovernor, but federal taxpayers aren’t… https://t.co/LUa3xmJifN

— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) February 5, 2026

Budget Overruns: From $33 Billion Dream to $128 Billion Nightmare

If there’s one thing commies in Sacramento excel at, it’s blowing budgets sky-high. Back in 2008, the pitch was $33 billion total. By 2011, it doubled to $98 billion. Fast-forward to 2026, and the Merced-Bakersfield stub alone rings in at $36.7 billion. The full San Francisco to LA system? Estimates hover between $89 billion and $128 billion, with inflation baked in. That’s a quadrupling or more, folks—pure fiscal malpractice.

They’ve already burned through $13.8 billion as of August 2025, mostly on that Central Valley eyesore. Funding gaps keep widening: A $6.5 billion hole for the initial segment last year ballooned to potentially $10.2 billion now. Land grabs, environmental red tape, and endless redesigns are the culprits, but don’t expect accountability. This is California—where “progress” means padding pockets while the state drowns in debt.

Funding Fundamentals: A Shell Game of State Cash and Federal Flip-Flops

Here’s where it gets really slimy. Funding started with that $9 billion from Prop 1A bonds, plus $950 million for connecting commuter lines. Feds chipped in under Obama: $2.5 billion from ARRA (all spent by deadline) and another $929 million from FY10 funds. Biden tossed in $3.07 billion via IIJA in 2023. Total federal haul: About $6.8 billion awarded, but Trump’s crew clawed back $4.2 billion in July 2025 after audits slammed delays and shortfalls. Congress followed up in 2026 by rescinding another $929 million in the appropriations bill.

We won. Federal funding for the CA High-Speed Rail catastrophe has officially been terminated. pic.twitter.com/TGeD2VfGxk

— Rep. Kevin Kiley (@RepKiley) July 17, 2025

Newsom sued to get the money back but dropped it in December 2025, admitting the feds are “not a reliable partner.” Now it’s all on state coffers: $1 billion yearly from cap-and-trade through 2045, totaling $20 billion. They’re chasing private investors too, dangling higher-ridership segments like Gilroy to Bakersfield or Palmdale. But with a $7 billion gap just for the early segment and no “credible plan” to close it, good luck luring suckers. This pivot screams desperation—Newsom’s betting on green guilt and crony deals to keep the gravy train rolling.

Recent Revelations: Fake Milestones Amid Mounting Failures

Just this week, on February 3, 2026, Newsom strutted into Kern County to celebrate the “completion” of the Southern Railhead Facility—a fancy yard for storing track materials. He called it a “major milestone” kicking off track-laying, with rails possibly hitting dirt by September. Sure, 463 miles are environmentally cleared, but that’s cold comfort when the whole project’s a decade late and counting.

Meanwhile, a new bill could shield rail records from public eyes if they “reveal weaknesses”—because transparency’s for chumps. And that Yosemite detour? It’s a $1 billion save on the Merced station but reeks of gimmickry to salvage ridership dreams. After 25 years and billions, zero trains running. Newsom blasts the funding cuts, but hey, at least someone’s watching the till.

 

Why Newsom Keeps Pushing This Doomed Disaster

So why won’t Gav pull the plug? Simple: Ego, ideology, and payoffs. He’s hawking this as proof California can “prove it can be done”—building “cleaner, faster” transport while “investing in communities” and creating “good-paying jobs.” Those 16,000 gigs are union gold, keeping labor bosses happy and campaign coffers full. It’s his legacy play: Reimagining the Central Valley with “connection and respect,” contrasting California’s persistence with Texas ditching theirs.

If being a decade behind schedule and 100 billion dollars over budget has you beginning to doubt Gavin Newsom and his high speed rail project, just take a look at some other trains attempting to operate in California. pic.twitter.com/OaOHjkcHr3

— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) February 5, 2026

Deep down, it’s green virtue-signaling on steroids—cap-and-trade cash flows straight into this eco-fantasy, ignoring the pollution from endless construction. Newsom’s doubled down despite audits flagging “gross mismanagement,” because admitting defeat means owning the boondoggle. He’d rather chase private bucks and state slush funds than face facts: This train’s headed off a fiscal cliff, dragging hardworking taxpayers with it.

The Bottom Line: Time to Derail This Debacle

California’s high-speed rail is a monument to big-government failure—over budget, behind schedule, and utterly pointless. Newsom’s obsession with it exposes the rot: Prioritizing pet projects over real priorities like border security or crime-fighting. America First means smart infrastructure, not this blue-state black hole. Pull the funding, scrap the scam, and let California learn that dreams don’t trump dollars. If Slick Gav wants a legacy, how about fixing the roads we’ve got instead of chasing unicorns?