Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have begun identifying specific government programs that their Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would target in the next presidential administration, including California's high-speed rail project.
In 2008, California voters approved a plan to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco via electrified high-speed rail by 2030. Since then, the project's timeline has been repeatedly extended and its budget increased. As with other large infrastructure projects contingent on federal funding, California high-speed rail has been delayed by cronyism, political horse trading, and regulatory inefficiencies (parts of Southern California still haven't completed the necessary environmental reviews to lay track).
