CALIFORNIA/SPENDING/TRANSPORTATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The administration Tuesday [2-19-19] threatened to withdraw almost a billion dollars in federal funds allocated to a high-speed rail line in California, but the state’s governor counterpunched by suggesting the threat was retaliation for fighting President Donald Trump’s ‘national emergency’ declaration on a border wall. On Tuesday evening, the Transportation Department threatened to cancel $929 million in federal funds earmarked for California’s high-speed rail project, after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans last week to scale back the project. And DOT said it wants to go even further, saying it’s ‘actively exploring every legal option’ to seek the return of $2.5 billion in federal funds that have already been granted for what the agency calls a ‘now-defunct’ project. Newsom has said the state will still aim to complete a smaller segment of the route than had originally been envisioned, from Bakersfield to Merced.”
–Sam Mintz, “Trump administration trying to claw back California high-speed rail money,” Politico, February 19, 2019 8:04 pm