California Sues Over $929 Million in Canceled High-Speed Rail Money

California sued Tuesday to block federal officials from canceling $929 million for the state's high-speed rail project, escalating the state's feud with the Trump administration.

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 by the end of 2022 to keep the money, and the administration has argued the state cannot meet that deadline.

But Lenny Mendonca, chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, said in a statement that California has performed its obligations on the project thus far.

"While this project has long been a political football, our determination to get the work done and bring high-speed rail to California is undaunted," he said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said the move is retribution for California's criticism of President Trump's immigration policies.

The attempt to revoke funding for the bullet train "puts every large-scale infrastructure project in the United States of America at risk," he added. "Everybody knows what it was; it was a petulant act by a petulant president."

The lawsuit doubled down on that criticism.

"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 complaint said.

California has worked for more than a decade on the project to build high-speed rail service between Los Angeles and San Francisco, but the project has been plagued by delays and cost overruns. It's now projected to cost nearly $80 billion and be finished by 2033.

The $929 million the Trump administration plans to cancel is key funding for a Central Valley track segment expected to cost about $12 billion.

California was not expected to tap those funds until 2021. The state has already spent another $2.5 billion in federal grants, and the Federal Railroad Administration said last week it's exploring whether it can try to get that money back.

KQED's Katie Orr contributed to this report.