WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) joined Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and 39 Democratic colleagues in demanding the Trump Administration stop delaying the advancement of public transportation projects funded by the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program. Currently, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has access to more than $1.9 billion in unobligated and unallocated funds ready to be spent. However, the Trump Administration continues to hold up significant projects in blue states while red states’ projects move ahead.
In a letter to FTA Acting Deputy Administrator Mathew Cahill and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Administrator Russel Vought, the lawmakers expressed concern over delays that have created a backlog in transit projects and called out the Administration for potentially holding up funding for political reasons. Last month, the Trump Administration admitted to terminating funding for projects in states that did not vote for the President.
“We have watched for months as the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have stonewalled the progress of worthy transit projects while President Trump and Department of Transportation Secretary Duffy are proclaiming a commitment to a ‘golden age of transportation,’” wrote the lawmakers.
“The growing backlog of projects in limbo due to FTA and OMB inaction is unacceptable,” continued the lawmakers. “We are very concerned that delaying the CIG project pipeline, while advancing only the Utah project, is potentially rooted in partisan political considerations, which could further violate statutory requirements.”
“Every $1 invested in transit generates $5 in long-term economic value. Conversely, failing to deliver on long-promised transit investment carries serious economic consequences,” wrote the lawmakers. “Should this egregious trend continue, 11 projects in 10 states…that anticipate signing a CIG grant agreement this year could be subjected to senseless delay.”
The lawmakers concluded by reminding the administrators of the historically bipartisan nature of CIG-funded projects and demanded that their agencies immediately advance the stalled projects — regardless of a state’s 2024 election results.
Padilla and Schiff have long been advocates for investment in California transportation infrastructure and have fought against the Trump Administration’s harmful intentional delays on transportation projects. Last month, Padilla and Schiff announced $53.8 million from the Department of Transportation (DOT) to repair highways and roads across California. Last year, Padilla announced over $258 million for nine transportation infrastructure projects across California through the DOT’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant Program, the Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP) Grant Program, and the Rural Surface Transportation Grant (Rural) Program.
Full text of the letter is available here and below:
Dear Director Vought and Acting Deputy Administrator Cahill,
We write to express deep concern regarding reports that your agencies are delaying the advancement of public transportation projects within the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) pipeline. As members of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committees and as members of the House and Senate representing affected projects, we have an obligation to ensure that the CIG program is carried out in accordance with statutory requirements that have been enacted to ensure that taxpayer resources are not wasted as a result of delay by the federal government. We have watched for months as the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have stonewalled the progress of worthy transit projects while President Trump and Department of Transportation Secretary Duffy are proclaiming a commitment to a “golden age of transportation.” We would like to remind you that such a vision is woefully incomplete if it does not include delivering CIG projects that will provide fast, frequent and reliable transit service across the nation.
The growing backlog of projects in limbo due to FTA and OMB inaction is unacceptable. Since last fall, your agencies have neglected to advance the Boston Green Line Transformation project, the Los Angeles Southeast Gateway Line and the Salt Lake City region’s Frontrunner 2X project into the CIG Engineering phase—without justification for the delay. Last week, FTA moved the Utah project into Engineering, a welcome development, but the two other projects remain stalled.
This delay is occurring despite the fact that FTA currently has access to more than $1.9 billion in unobligated and unallocated funds that are available to support CIG projects, and Congress has consistently appropriated new funds each year to the CIG program. The Frontrunner 2X project has already been allocated $594 million of CIG funding, and based on FTA’s commitment at Engineering entry last week, the project will need only $693 million of additional CIG program funds.
We wish to remind you that the projects in Boston, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City have all completed a comprehensive rating process pursuant to the CIG program guidance that was most recently updated by FTA in November of 2025, under President Trump’s administration. Each of the three projects received an overall project rating that qualified them to enter the Engineering phase and later receive a Full Funding Grant Agreement. In fact, the projects in Boston and Los Angeles received an overall higher rating of “medium-high,” compared to the “medium” overall rating of the Utah project.
FTA and OMB should advance all projects that meet statutory criteria, and your agencies should not impose any further delays. Under the most recently enacted appropriations law and prior appropriations laws, FTA, OMB and the Administration are prohibited from using any federal funds to “impede or hinder project advancement or approval for any project seeking a Federal contribution from the capital investment grants program of greater than 40 percent of project costs,” which includes the delayed projects. We are very concerned that delaying the CIG project pipeline, while advancing only the Utah project, is potentially rooted in partisan political considerations, which could further violate statutory requirements.
We are frustrated by reports that OMB is partially responsible for these avoidable and costly delays. As a result of these stalling tactics, there has not been a single new CIG grant agreement signed since this Administration took office. Should this egregious trend continue, 11 projects in 10 states (California, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin) that anticipate signing a CIG grant agreement this year could be subjected to senseless delay. No Administration since 1993 has failed to sign a single CIG grant agreement in the first year: we urge you not to set a new record by failing to sign CIG grant agreements for two years in a row.
Unnecessary delays are not only frustrating; they are economically short-sighted. Transit is an excellent investment. Every $1 invested in transit generates $5 in long-term economic value. Conversely, failing to deliver on long-promised transit investment carries serious economic consequences. Project sponsors and taxpayers will end up footing the bill for delay-induced cost increases. The construction workforce and the broader transportation supply chain are left waiting for critical job-creating investments. In the interim, people have fewer choices to get around their community. The impact of trips not taken to work, to school, or to the doctor undermines economic growth.
Transportation policy is generally bipartisan, and we are proud of this reputation. Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Congress re-committed to a multimodal federal transportation program. Every year, Congress reiterates a bipartisan commitment to CIG through the annual appropriations process. We stand ready and willing to continue making robust federal investments in infrastructure on the scale that our country desperately needs. However, any effort to impede or hinder CIG projects does serious harm to the bipartisan coalition that supports federal infrastructure investment. Congress must be confident that the CIG program will be executed in accordance with the law. Any delay or hindrance in delivering CIG projects further undermines our confidence that this Administration will faithfully execute the law.
Many of us represent communities with CIG projects that are currently impacted or could soon be impacted by your agencies’ actions. We request that you immediately advance the two stalled projects in California and Massachusetts into Engineering and prevent further program obstruction or delays. Please respond in writing, not later than August 18, 2026, with your timeline to advance the two projects into the next phase of CIG. Going forward, we request that you expeditiously approve projects that are eligible for a Full Funding or Small Starts Grant Agreement, including the 11 projects seeking grant agreements later this year. Investing in transit projects through the CIG program is essential to building a transportation system that works for everyone.
Sincerely,