California Sues Over $1B In Canceled High-Speed Rail Money

California sued to block the Trump administration from cancelling nearly $1 billion for the state’s high-speed rail project, escalating the state’s feud with the federal government.

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The Federal Railroad Administration announced last week it would not give California the money awarded by Congress nearly a decade ago, arguing that the state has not made enough progress on the project. The state must complete construction on a segment of track in the Central Valley agricultural heartland by 2022 to keep the money, and the administration has argued the state cannot meet that deadline and has failed to show adequate progress. That line of track would be the first built on what the state hopes will eventually become a 520-mile (837-kilometer) line.

But Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom says the move is retribution for California’s criticism of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. “The decision was precipitated by President Trump’s overt hostility to California, its challenge to his border wall initiatives, and what he called the “green disaster” high-speed rail project,” the state said in the lawsuit.