Trump Takes Back $1 Billion from California; Gavin Newsom Complains: ‘Political Retribution’ 80,521 19 Feb 201918,723 2:46 The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it was canceling a federal grant to California worth nearly $1 billion after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the cancelation of the state’s high-speed rail project last week. Newsom used his “State of the State” address Feb. 12 to cancel the San Francisco-to-Los Angeles project, saying it “would cost too much and, respectfully, would take too long” to complete. However, he told legislators he wanted to complete the portion of the bullet train under construction in the rural Central Valley, lest the state lose federal dollars granted to California by President Barack Obama as part of the 2009 stimulus: “I am not interested in sending $3.5 billion in federal funding that was allocated to this project back to Donald Trump,” Newsom said. The president had other ideas, and took to Twitter to demand that California return the money. Newsom rejected that demand, insisting: “This is CA’s money, allocated by Congress for this project. We’re not giving it back.” But on Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) sent a letter to the California High-Speed Rail Authority, informing it that it was terminating its agreement with the state and therefore would refuse to provide the state with $928,620,000 allocated to the high-speed rail project. The FRA listed several factors informing its decision, including the likelihood that the high-speed rail would not be completed by 2022, as contemplated by the original agreement. The state’s high-speed rail authority had also failed, according to the FRA, to provide “timely and satisfactory financial reports” to the federal government. The Los Angeles Times reported additionally that the Department of Transportation said it was “actively exploring every legal option” to recover the other $2.5 billion granted by the federal government to California for the project. Newsom complained angrily that Trump was carrying out “political retribution” for California’s legal challenge Monday to his emergency declaration to build a barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border. He reiterated: “This is California’s money, and we are going to fight for it,” according to a statement quoted by the Times.
The money is earmarked by the Department of Transportation for the high speed rail project. If California is not building the high speed rail then the money needs to be taken back. This should be obvious to any reasonable person.
The money Trump is attempting to steal for his wall was earmarked for other purposes. This should be obvious to any reasonable person.
Trump needs it for the wall. Maybe they can put a walkway on top of the wall so they can call it “Transportation related”.
The President as an executive has the right to move some money around within the context of the federal budget expenditures. We will let the courts determine if Trump is within his rights as the chief executive to move the money for the wall. If should be obvious that a state has no right to keep federal DOT money for a transportation project when the project is cancelled. This money goes back to the federal DOT.
Please note Tony Stark aka AK Forty Seven and his new M.O. of parroting responses in a "I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I?" manner. Don't expect content.