Billions of taxpayer dollars are slipping through the cracks, and the Senate DOGE Caucus is sounding the alarm on federal infrastructure projects that have ballooned far beyond their budgets. A new report reveals a staggering $162 billion in overruns, with California's high-speed rail leading the pack as a symbol of fiscal mismanagement.
According to Fox News, the Senate DOGE Caucus, chaired by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, has exposed over a dozen projects drowning in red ink. Ernst, with help from DOT Secretary Sean Duffy, dug into data the Biden administration apparently preferred to keep under wraps.
California’s high-speed rail, now projected at $128 billion with a $95 billion overrun, stands as the poster child for what Ernst calls a "financial train wreck." Her report suggests this $162.9 billion figure might just be the starting point if more scrutiny is applied.
"Going a billion dollars over budget isn’t a rounding error; it’s a financial train wreck," Ernst told Fox News Digital. But let’s be real: when has a government project ever stayed on budget, especially one pushed through with rushed funding requests to snag Obama-era stimulus cash?
The report details how California sought federal money before even completing preliminary steps, a move confirmed by a 2018 state auditor’s letter. With $7 billion approved and half still unspent, one wonders if this train will ever leave the station or just keep burning cash.
Other rail projects, like a San Francisco Caltrain extension backed by Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., aren’t faring much better. Pelosi claimed it’s “about saving the planet” and “quality of life,” but at $8 billion for less than two miles, it’s hard to see this as anything but an overpriced photo op.
Elsewhere, a Minneapolis light rail extension has doubled to $2.74 billion, earning the dubious title of Minnesota’s costliest public works project in history. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., defended it as vital after local unrest, but taxpayers might question if “getting back on our feet” should cost quite this much.
In Honolulu, a rail project is $4.5 billion over budget and needs another $9.9 billion to finish, a sum nearly half of Hawaii’s annual state budget. When a train moves slower than rush hour traffic, as the report notes, you’ve got to ask if the destination justifies the journey.
Even in Ernst’s home state of Iowa, a project at the Interstate 80 and 29 convergence in Council Bluffs is cited for delays, while East Coast ventures like New Jersey’s interchange near the Walt Whitman Bridge are years behind. These smaller fiascos add up, piling more burden on a public already skeptical of government efficiency.
Ernst isn’t just pointing fingers; she’s pushing action with the Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act, co-introduced with Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, which would force agencies to report on delayed or over-budget projects. “Being five years behind schedule isn’t just losing track of time—it’s a full derailment,” she quipped, and she’s not wrong to demand accountability.
She also celebrated past success in defunding what she dubbed the “California Crazy Train” under the Trump administration, urging similar cuts for other runaway projects. If just five of these disasters were axed in a future rescissions package, she argues, billions more could be saved.
DOT Secretary Duffy echoed her resolve, stating, “If you’re receiving taxpayer dollars, you should expect to be held accountable by the American people.” It’s a refreshing stance, though one wonders if the political will exists to truly rein in these budgetary black holes.
The scale of these overruns, from Silicon Valley extensions to Maryland’s troubled Purple Line, paints a grim picture of federal oversight. When projects like Pelosi’s pet tunnel get defended as environmental saviors while costing more per mile than some countries’ entire budgets, the disconnect is glaring.
Ernst’s report is a wake-up call, not just for lawmakers but for every citizen footing the bill for these endless delays and inflated costs. It’s not about ideology; it’s about ensuring hard-earned money isn’t squandered on promises that never materialize.
With legislative efforts underway and growing scrutiny from leaders like Duffy, there’s a sliver of hope that accountability might finally catch up to ambition. The question remains whether Washington can muster the discipline to prioritize fiscal sanity over flashy, feel-good projects that rarely deliver.
