Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy refused to be shut down by California leftists protesting an announcement on the state’s high-speed rail project.
Duffy slammed the California High-Speed Rail and dropped a load of truth on chanting, shouting protesters as he announced an investigation into the “boondoggle” during a news conference Thursday.
“I want to address the protesters for a moment if I could. I think they were chanting ‘Build the rail’? It’s been 17 years and $16 billion and no rail has been built,” he said at LA’s Union Station.
Over a decade and $16B of taxpayer dollars wasted with zero results on this rail project. If protestors want to shout at someone, they should direct their outrage at Governor Newsom and complicit Democrats who have enabled this fraud and waste for a train to nowhere. @USDOT will… pic.twitter.com/KsXKhYczll
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) February 20, 2025
“So, if you want to go protest somewhere, and if you want to shout at someone, go to the governor’s mansion. Go talk to Democrats in the legislature who have brought us this crappy project,” said the new director of the Department of Transportation whose brief tenure has seen several aviation emergencies.
“Build the rail! Build the rail!” protesters chanted as they waved signs and demanded hands off what President Donald Trump has said is the “worst-managed project I think I’ve ever seen.”
“It is the worst thing, and we’re going to start an investigation into that because it is not possible…it’s impossible that something could cost that much. And now it’s not even going to San Francisco and it’s not going to Los Angeles. They’ve made it much shorter,” Trump told reporters.
Republican Congressmen Kevin Kiley and Vince Fong spoke at Thursday’s news conference as protesters shouted.
Today I joined U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy to announce an investigation into CA High-Speed Rail, which could claw back $4.3 billion in federal funds. Amusingly, a few protestors showed up in support of the boondoggle.
The High-Speed Rail disaster is the worst… pic.twitter.com/0sHYSVjCJc
— Kevin Kiley (@KevinKileyCA) February 20, 2025
“For too long, taxpayers have subsidized the massively over-budget and delayed California High-Speed Rail project,” Duffy said in a statement. “President Trump is right that this project is in dire need of an investigation. That is why I am directing my staff to review and determine whether the CHSRA has followed through on the commitments it made to receive billions of dollars in federal funding. If not, I will have to consider whether that money could be given to deserving infrastructure projects elsewhere in the United States.”
The San Francisco to Los Angeles project “was initially supposed to be completed by 2020 and cost $33 billion,” according to a DOT press release, adding that the latest estimate is $106 billion.
California’s High-Speed Rail Authority fired back in a statement.
“We welcome this investigation and the opportunity to work with our federal partners,” CEO Ian Choudri told Newsweek in an email.
“With multiple independent federal and state audits completed, every dollar is accounted for, and we stand by the progress and impact of this project. California’s high-speed rail is 171 miles under active construction, with over 50 major structures completed, 14,700 jobs created, and more than 880 small businesses engaged. This investment has already generated $22 billion in economic impact, primarily benefiting the Central Valley,” he added.
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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