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Secretary Duffy Tells California High-Speed Rail Protesters to Blame Sacramento

February 22, 2025 · US Department of Transportation · 0:01:19

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

The Department of Transportation video opens with a narrator asking why $16 billion has been spent on California high-speed rail with still no rail, over a decade behind schedule, as the narration states the figures. Secretary Sean Duffy then addressed protesters chanting to build the rail: it has been 17 years and $16 billion and no rail has been built, he said, so if they want to protest or shout at someone, they should go to the governor’s mansion and talk to Democrats in the legislature who, as he put it, brought this crappy project, according to his remarks in the video.

Duffy called the project a boondoggle and a train to nowhere, and asked who got rich — which consultants and politicians, as he framed the question — saying California handed money to politically connected contractors almost 20 years ago and the prior administration kept sending checks with no questions asked, as he characterized federal support. The narration concludes that Duffy pulled the plug and California is on its own, as the video presents the decision.

Why it matters

The clip is the Transportation Secretary’s public defense of cutting the California rail project — the spent figure, the elapsed time and the blame assignment, all in his own words at the investigation event itself.

Scoreboard watch

Flagged for the scoreboard editor: the figures stated in this February 22, 2025 video — $16 billion spent over 17 years with no rail built on California high-speed rail, as stated by Secretary Duffy and the narration — for checking against California High-Speed Rail Authority reporting. No verdict is given here.

Sources: US Department of Transportation, “Secretary Duffy’s response to the California high-speed rail investigation protesters.”, 2025-02-22 (official upload, embedded above; published 2025-02-22). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.