Trump slams California's over-budget, behind schedule high-speed rail project as 'worst managed project' he's ever seen

President Donald Trump is calling for an investigation into California's controversial high-speed rail project that continues to be way over budget and behind schedule.

Trump said Tuesday, “The train that's being built between Los Angeles and San Francisco is the worst managed project I think I've ever seen,” criticizing the project for being "hundreds of billions of dollars over budget."

He told reporters, "We're going to start an investigation of that because it's not possible. I built for a living and I built on time, on budget. It's impossible that something could cost that much.”

In January, Congressman Kevin Kiley (R-CA) introduced a bill in Congress that would cut federal funding to the project, stating "I think it's unconscionable that we continue to throw billions of dollars at this failure of a project which is never going to actually be built, just wasting people's money." 

The California High-Speed Rail Authority wrote on X that it has entered the track-laying phase, with 171 miles of it under active construction after completing 50 major structures and 60 miles of guideway.

It also posted, seemingly in response to Trump’s comments, “Ignore the noise. We’re busy building.”

According to ABC 10, Last month, Governor Gavin Newsom said that once the track was laid down, they would be able to bring in heavier equipment to help with the rest of the project.

Rail officials said they are attempting to have the Merced to Bakersfield system operational between 2030 and 2033. Approximately 170 miles of the corridor is under design and construction. More than 460 miles of the Phase 1 system from San Francisco to the Los Angeles/Anaheim area have also been environmentally cleared.