California officials fight Trump's bid to pull funding for high-speed rail project foxnews.com

The head of California’s controversial high-speed rail project hit back this week at President Trump’s bid to halt federal funding to the railway and force the state to pay back money already doled out. Calling the administration’s move not only illegal but “disastrous” and “wasteful,” California Rail Authority CEO Brian Kelly penned two letters to the Federal Railroad Administration amid a heated debate over whether or not the $77 billion project is living up to expectations. “Governor [Gavin] Newsom I committed to building a transformative, visionary high-speed rail project in full compliance with federal grant requirements,” Kelly wrote in one of his letters. “Second, the California High Speed Rail Authority is making progress and has met its commitments under its federal grants agreements.”