US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the US Department of Transportation is cutting $4 billion (€3.4 billion) in federal funding for California's high-speed rail project.

"Not a SINGLE penny in Federal Dollars will go towards this Newscum SCAM ever again," he posted on social media, using a pejorative name for the Democratic California Governor, Gavin Newsom.

Trump also called the project "an ill-conceived and unnecessary project, and a total waste of Taxpayer money."

Meanwhile, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said: "Governor Newsom and California's high speed rail boondoggle are the definition of government incompetence and possibly corruption."

How did California react?

The state is "putting all options on the table to fight this," Newsom said in a statement. 

"Canceling these grants without cause isn't just wrong — it's illegal," said California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri. "These are legally binding agreements, and the Authority has met every obligation."

The authority stated that the project is "fast approaching the track-laying phase," noting that 171 miles are under active construction and design, 15,500 jobs have been created, and more than 50 major structures have been completed.

What is California high-speed rail?

The California High-Speed Rail System is a planned, two-phase, 800-mile (1287-kilometers) system that will travel up to 220 miles per hour (354 kilometers per hour).

It aims to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles/Anaheim in the first phase and extend north to Sacramento and south to San Diego in the second phase.

The project was launched in 2008 and has experienced numerous delays and budget overruns.

The phase from San Francisco to Los Angeles was initially expected to be completed by 2020 at a cost of $33 billion. However, the price tag has now jumped from to $128 billion.

Trump opposes the project

Trump had previously canceled federal funding for the project during his first term. However, this decision was temporarily halted when California filed a legal challenge.

In 2020, Joe Biden, a Democrat, was elected president and partially restored the funds.

Even if California challenges Trump's decision again in court, canceling the funding would seriously damage the project and likely cause further delays.

Edited by: John Silk