[Sac Bee] California on Tuesday withdrew its lawsuit against the Trump administration over the termination of about $4 billion in federal funding for its high-speed rail project, citing the federal government’s unreliability as the reason for the decision. The development follows a lawsuit filed in July, when California sued the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration to restore funding for the project.
"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," a California High-Speed Rail Authority spokesperson said in an email to The Sacramento Bee on Friday. "The Federal Railroad Administration stated that all work performed by the Authority — whether undertaken as part of cooperative agreements or otherwise — remains ’at risk’ and may not receive funding." The spokesperson added that they see this moment as a new opportunity to streamline project delivery, claiming that federal requirements have at times driven up costs and slowed construction without adding value.
The development also comes after a Dec. 19 request for qualifications issued by the Authority to seek private partners as part of a broader plan to bring in private investors by summer 2026 to help speed up construction and explore new revenue opportunities. California’s high-speed rail project has seen delays and cost increases over the years, drawing criticism from opponents and renewed scrutiny from federal officials. When it was originally approved by voters in 2008, it was envisioned as a 3-hour bullet train that would take passengers from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Since then, the project has been downsized, with its first segment set to open in part of the Central Valley in 2033. In July, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy referred to the project as a "boondoggle," blaming California, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrats for what he described as "a decade of failures." "Federal dollars are not a blank check — they come with a promise to deliver results," Duffy said in a news release in July. "After over a decade of failures, CHSRA’s mismanagement and incompetence has proven it cannot build its train to nowhere on time or on budget."
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/27/2025 02:54 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1771 views]
Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
#1
shocker.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
12/27/2025 4:13 Comments ||
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#2
Could it be certain DEMOCRAT someone's there would have to explain where over a $Billions has already went?
#5
first (small) segment to open will be in the Central Valley and will serve approximately Zero (0) paid passengers once the Pols and reporters Dem propagandists leave the ribbon-cutting event
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/27/2025 8:37 Comments ||
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#6
Will the incredibly small section just be track at this point, or have they constructed the bullet train? It will be funny either way.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/27/2025 10:56 Comments ||
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[FoxNews] SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler called Minnesota's response to the scandal 'egregious'
Federal Small Business (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler sent a letter Tuesday to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ...Kamala's smarmy-looking VP running mate, governor of Minnesota and self-admitted knucklehead, who decided to retire rather than to deploy with his National Guard unit, then claimed to have been in Iraq and Afghanistan. One man's socialism is another man's neighborliness.... alerting him that her agency will "halt" more than $5.5 million in annual support to resource partners in the state "until further notice."
The move comes as Walz and his administration grapple with billions of dollars in social services fraud. U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said Thursday a "significant amount" of $18 billion worth of Medicaid funding was likely lost to fraud.
"I am notifying you that effective immediately and until further notice, the SBA is halting the disbursement of federal funds to SBA resource partners operating in the state of Minnesota, totaling over $5.5 million in annual support," Loeffler wrote Walz on Tuesday.
"This action is the result of a fundamental breakdown in the public trust. Under your leadership, Minnesota failed to safeguard taxpayer dollars, and SBA will not continue to place federal resources at risk in a state where oversight measures are ignored and accountability is abandoned."
Loeffler blamed Walz for making the Land of 10,000 Lakes the "epicenter" of the largest fraud scandal of the COVID-19 pandemic era, and that recent criminal convictions of Somalis and other figures prove such fraud is "endemic" to St. Paul’s vast welfare curriculum.
She cited Thompson’s calculations, saying the Somali fraud network netted $1 billion in its Minneapolis-centered fraud scheme and at least half of certain Medicaid funding programs subsidized by Minnesota taxpayers have been "pocketed by criminals" — assessing the final figure to be at least $9 billion.
She noted the USDA — which facilitates SNAP and other programs — as well as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have launched probes into the scandals.
At least $2.5 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds issued during the pandemic were tied to the Somali fraud scheme, the SBA said.
Another $430 million in PPP subsidies — totaling 13,000 individual loans — had been flagged as fraudulent but funded anyway, including some that were among those loans altogether forgiven during the Biden administration, Loeffler wrote.
Six more charged in massive Minnesota fraud scheme, Tim Walz respondsVideo
"The volume and concentration of potential fraud is staggering, matched in its egregiousness only by your response to those who attempted to stop it," she told Walz.
"When politicians and whistleblowers raised concerns about potential abuse during the pandemic, your Administration resisted oversight, refused accountability, and allowed the misconduct to metastasize."
Loeffler faulted Walz for dismissing some criticisms of his administration’s "generosity" as "racism."
Walz previously said fraudsters in Minnesota will go to prison, and that "I don’t care what color you are [or] religion you are," but followed up by saying that critics "demonizing an entire population" is "beneath that," according to PBS.
SBA will immediately halt $2.22 million in Small Business Development Center awards, $450,000 in women’s business center awards, $2.6 million in "microloan" awards — the entire 2025 disbursement — and about $550,000 in other disbursements.
Loeffler called Minnesota’s fraud scandals the consequence of "socialist policies deliberately designed to pump out welfare funding without oversight or accountability."
#1
I thought there was fraud. This exceeds everything I possibly imagined. All of Minnesota stewardship of federal funds seems to be set up on the model of leaving a salad bowl of Halloween candy on the front porch and retiring for the evening.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/27/2025 0:11 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Sac Bee] California on Tuesday withdrew its lawsuit against the Trump administration over the termination of about $4 billion in federal funding for its high-speed rail project, citing the federal government’s unreliability as the reason for the decision. The development follows a lawsuit filed in July, when California sued the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration to restore funding for the project.
...Kamala's smarmy-looking VP running mate, governor of Minnesota and self-admitted knucklehead, who decided to retire rather than to deploy with his National Guard unit, then claimed to have been in Iraq and Afghanistan. 
