President Donald Trump’s cabinet followed through Thursday on a promise made earlier this month to audit California’s high-speed rail project.

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy directed the Federal Railroad Administration to review the feasibility of the California High-Speed Rail and $4 billion previously allocated for the project.

Duffy questioned cost increases and delays of the rail project. The rail administration would look at whether the California High-Speed Rail Authority has fully complied with grant agreements.

“President Donald Trump is right that this project is in dire need of an investigation,” Duffy said in a statement. “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.”

DOT Examines Reasons for Cost Overruns, Delays

The original $33 billion estimate for the project spanning from Los Angeles to San Francisco has since been reduced to a run from Merced to Bakersfield. The cost to build from Merced to Bakersfield exceeds that $33 billion estimate.

The California High-Speed Rail Office of the Inspector General found a funding gap of $6.5 billion for that segment. The U.S. Department of Transportation says that the gap exists even without the $4 billion from former President Joe Biden’s Infrastructure Plan.

Completing the Los Angeles and San Francisco corridor could cost $103.1 billion, with $92.6 billion unfunded, according to a 2023 review by the CHSRA Peer Review Group.

A news release from the U.S. Department of Transportation stated a compliance and performance review would be needed on delays and cost overruns.

Related Story: Mayor Says Fresno Needs High-Speed Rail Despite Cost Overruns

Local Elected Officials React to Review

Tulare County’s newest Assemblymember, Alexandra Macedo (R-Tulare), introduced a bill to redirect state funding for high-speed rail to wildfire infrastructure prevention and water infrastructure.

She criticized the 17-year project and $13.7 billion spent with no tracks yet laid.

“Taxpayers are forking out a billion dollars a year for this failed project, while Southern California residents continue to suffer from the aftermath of the wildfires including life-threatening flooding — and while people in the Central Valley don’t have drinkable water,” Macedo said in a statement.

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said he shares concerns with the Trump administration regarding delays and cost overruns.

“I continue to support high-speed rail, regardless of who builds it, as long as it connects the Central Valley to the California economy,” Dyer said in a statement.