A Republican state lawmaker is calling on California Governor Gavin Newsom to remove his hand-picked High Speed Rail CEO after the executive was arrested on suspicion of domestic battery earlier this month, a case that reportedly involved a child and has now spiraled into questions about financial conflicts of interest.
Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo, who represents parts of the San Joaquin Valley, sent a letter dated Feb. 25 demanding the resignation of Ian Choudri, the 57-year-old chief executive appointed in August 2024 to lead the state's perpetually troubled bullet train project, the NY Post reported.
Macedo did not mince words:
"The recent arrest of your hand-picked CEO Ian Choudri for domestic violence, in a case that reportedly involved abuse of a child, coupled with alarming details regarding financial ties between his fiancée and a key contractor, makes his continued leadership not only untenable, but also an insult to every taxpayer in the Central Valley and throughout the State of California."
On Feb. 4, a neighbor called police just before midnight after a disturbance at Choudri's home in Folsom. According to people familiar with the incident, Choudri allegedly tried to intervene in a fight between his fiancée, Lyudmyla "Mila" Starostyuk, and his teenage daughter. He was later arrested on suspicion of domestic battery.
No charges were filed. Choudri is not facing any charges in connection with the incident.
That distinction matters legally, but politically, the damage runs deeper. The man tasked with overseeing one of the most expensive and delayed infrastructure projects in American history now sits on temporary administrative leave while the rail authority's board and the California State Transportation Agency conduct a review. Officials told KCRA that Choudri is using paid time off for his leave.
The arrest alone would be damaging enough. But Macedo's letter also flagged something that may prove harder to explain away: financial ties between Choudri's fiancée and a key High Speed Rail contractor.
Starostyuk was hired last month by KPMG, a firm that holds a $24 million contract with High Speed Rail. The optics are, to put it gently, not great. The CEO's fiancée drawing a paycheck from a company that draws tens of millions from the agency he runs raises the kind of questions that erode public trust whether or not a technical violation occurred.
Choudri's attorney, Allen Sawyer, pushed back on the implication:
"Ms. Starostyuk's position is not affiliated with the high speed rail authority or any other rail authority in any capacity. Her role at her job is unrelated and concerns a completely different sector of business."
Maybe so. But "unrelated sector of business" inside a firm with a $24 million rail contract is the kind of explanation that satisfies lawyers and nobody else. Taxpayers in the Central Valley, who have watched this project chew through billions while delivering little, are not in the mood for technicalities.
The governor's response has followed the familiar Sacramento playbook: acknowledge just enough to avoid silence, then redirect accountability elsewhere.
At a Feb. 19 press conference in the Bay Area, Newsom confirmed that Choudri is under investigation for both the Feb. 4 incident and the conflict-of-interest allegations. His comment was measured to the point of being hollow:
"The board is going to appropriately investigate not only the issues that were brought to light but some of these broader issues as well."
His office went further in distancing the governor from his own appointee, stating that "Mr. Choudri was hired by and reports directly to the California High-Speed Rail Authority Board." The office added it is awaiting the completion of the review before commenting further.
This is a neat trick. When Newsom stood in Kern County touting the completion of a 150-acre construction facility, the High Speed Rail project was very much his to celebrate. Now that its CEO sits on leave after a domestic battery arrest, the project apparently reports to a board.
California's High Speed Rail has been a case study in government mismanagement for the better part of two decades. Cost overruns, timeline delays, scaled-back ambitions, revolving leadership. The project has become less a transportation initiative than a monument to the gap between progressive promises and bureaucratic reality.
Macedo captured the political stakes plainly:
"Given his arrest and the allegations against him, Mr. Choudri's continued tenure would irreparably damage the public's trust in their government."
She's right, though the damage to public trust in this project started long before Ian Choudri arrived. What his situation does is crystallize everything voters in the Central Valley already suspected about how Sacramento manages their money and picks its leaders:
None of these facts, taken individually, would be fatal in a functioning organization with public credibility to spare. California High Speed Rail has no credibility to spare. It burned through that years ago.
Choudri has not been charged. The review is ongoing. Newsom's office is waiting. The board is investigating. Sacramento is doing what Sacramento does best: processing.
Meanwhile, Macedo's letter sits on the governor's desk, and the question it poses is simple. If Newsom genuinely believes this project matters, if he wants taxpayers to trust that their billions are being spent responsibly, then the man at the top cannot be someone arrested for domestic battery while entangled in a potential conflict of interest with a $24 million contractor.
Leadership is not just about competence. It is about credibility. And right now, California's bullet train has neither.
