Reference News Network, August 27 - According to Reuters, on August 26, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that it would cancel $175 million in funding for four sub-projects of California's high-speed rail project. Previously, the U.S. federal government had already revoked $4 billion in funding for this ambitious but repeatedly delayed high-speed rail project in July.

According to the report, the Trump administration announced on August 26 that it would revoke funding support for the transportation infrastructure project in Madera County, California, overpasses, design work, and high-speed rail station construction. The state of California had already filed a lawsuit in July, challenging the federal government's decision to cut funding, claiming that the decision was illegal.

The report stated that President Trump and California Governor Newsom have had multiple conflicts. Earlier on August 26, the U.S. Department of Transportation also threatened to cancel a $33 million safety assistance grant to the state, citing the state's failure to enforce a federal regulation requiring truck drivers to be proficient in English.

This funding cut is another obstacle for the high-speed rail project connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco. The project has been underway for 16 years, aiming to achieve a three-hour travel time between the two cities, and if completed, it would become the fastest passenger railway system in the United States.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority has not yet responded to the matter, but Governor Newsom had stated in July that the federal government's decision to cut funding was "a narrow political retaliation driven by President Trump's personal hostility toward the state and the high-speed rail project, rather than based on objective facts."

This funding cut is the latest round of confrontation between Trump and Newsom. Newsom is widely seen as a top contender for the Democratic presidential candidate in 2028. (Translated by Wu Mei)

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7543185074511004214/

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