Biden restores $929 mn for California high-speed rail withheld by Trump

US President Joe Biden

The Biden administration late on Thursday restored a $929 million grant for California's high-speed rail that former President Donald Trump revoked in 2019. The parties, which also include the California High-Speed Rail Authority and the US Transportation Department, agreed to restore the grant within three days, according to the settlement agreement. Talks began in March, around two months after Biden became president, to settle a suit filed in 2019 after Trump had pulled funding for a high-speed train project in the state hobbled by extensive delays and rising costs. Trump had repeatedly clashed as president with California on a number of fronts. California's lawsuit claimed the Transportation Department lacked legal authority to withhold the $929 million the administration of former President Barrack Obama allocated a decade ago but had remained untapped.