California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton used Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s pitch for a Democratic governor atop the 2028 presidential ticket to highlight the unfinished state of California’s high-speed rail project, during a Friday appearance on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
Beshear, arguing that Democratic governors have concrete accomplishments to run on, told the panel: “What Democratic governors have are receipts. You can look at, have you built the housing?”
Hilton interjected: “Have you built the high-speed rail?”
The moment came after host Bill Maher floated California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has not formally announced a presidential campaign, as a possible 2028 contender. Maher conceded Hilton’s line of attack had teeth, telling him, “You’re going to have a field day with that. No, you’re right.”
Hilton’s campaign manager, Matt Ciepielowski, followed up with a statement to Fox News Digital sharpening the criticism of Newsom’s record on the project.
“If Andy Beshear thinks California’s high-speed rail is something to brag about, he should try buying a ticket. Billions spent, years behind schedule, and Californians still can’t ride it. Gavin Newsom’s answer is to keep pouring money into it.”
Ciepielowski said Hilton, if elected, would pull the plug on state funding immediately. “Steve Hilton will end state funding on day one,” he said. “Californians are struggling to pay their own bills. They shouldn’t have to keep paying for Sacramento’s failures, too.”
State Lawmaker Points to Spending Scandal
California state Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, vice chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, said the project should have been scrapped years ago. “The high-speed fail should have been defunded when Newsom took office in 2019,” he said. “Instead, he doubled down on a project that will never be built as originally proposed to Californians.”
Strickland pointed to a recent finding that consultants on the project had misused public funds for luxury travel. “These are taxpayer dollars, yet project consultants treat them like their personal ATM,” he said. “This project will go down as one of the most wasteful government projects in California history.”
A Project Far Over Budget and Behind Schedule
Voters approved nearly $10 billion in bonds for the high-speed rail system in 2008, when the full project was estimated to cost $33 billion. An April estimate put the current cost at roughly $126 billion, and no high-speed track had been laid as of that report.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority’s 2026 business plan estimates that completing just the initial Merced-to-Bakersfield segment will cost $35.7 billion, with passenger service targeted for 2033. The authority’s financial records show about $15.7 billion had been spent through February.
A September investigation by the state’s independent high-speed rail inspector general found roughly $81,000 in consultant travel expenses that appeared to violate state regulations, and another $543,000 that appeared to violate contract terms, with some overlap between the two figures. Investigators flagged charges for premium transportation and trips to a gym, a nightclub and an escape room. The rail authority said it is pursuing additional oversight, employee training and efforts to recover improper payments.
The authority maintains the project is moving forward, reporting in October that 66 major structures and nearly 90 miles of guideway have been completed in the Central Valley, and pointing to anticipated economic and employment benefits. Fox News Digital said it reached out to Newsom and the rail authority for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
