(The Center Square) – California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri has resigned, citing personal and family reasons.
The resignation by Choudri, who oversaw a long-delayed project that is expected to ultimately cost taxpayers $126.2 billion, is effective immediately.
Choudri’s departure comes after the rail board restricted his spending power in response to an inspector general report uncovering questionable taxpayer-funded travel expenses. The project has also faced pushback over more than $250 million spent on four consulting firms between 2024 and 2026, with the board expecting those firms to reimburse the state for unapproved expenses.
Recently, California Rural Legal Assistance threatened legal action, alleging track sections were unlawfully rerouted without state legislative approval.
Following the resignation, the California High-Speed Rail Authority met in closed session and voted unanimously to appoint State Finance Director Joe Stephenshaw as interim CEO.
“His credentials speak for themselves, both as a steward of public funds and a proven leader,” Authority Board Chair Steve Kawa told The Center Square Thursday afternoon in an email.
Kawa said the board thanked Choudri for his service and has appointed new members to improve accountability, oversight and transparency. “Californians deserve a project they can trust, and the Governor will continue to insist on that from everyone working on it.”
Political pressure had been building prior to Choudri’s resignation. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra signaled in a recent television interview that Choudri’s tenure was likely to be nearing an end, noting the project needed a major overhaul. The Becerra campaign was unable to do an interview Thursday with The Center Square, citing a “booked” schedule.
The resignation came as no surprise to state Assemblymember David Tangipa, R-Fresno.
“You know, our minority leader, Macedo, actually called for his resignation last week because of what we’ve seen. I mean, things shrouded in what appears to be corruption with the contracting, the awarding,” Tangipa told The Center Square Thursday afternoon. “I mean, even the board removing his ability to grant contracts under $25 million without review was pulled away. So it only seemed a matter of time, with the amount of issues that have plagued this CEO, that he was going to resign. So it’s not surprising at all.”
Originally designed to connect Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area faster and cheaper than traditional travel, the high-speed rail line continues to encounter cost overruns and delays.
The initial Bakersfield-to-Merced segment alone is projected to cost $36 billion, with completion not expected until 2033.
Steven Greenhut, director of the Free Cities Center at Pasadena-based Pacific Research Institute, said the resignation reflects growing political reality.
“Well, it’s really about time there’s some accountability on the high-speed rail project, which is way behind schedule, way over budget,” Greenhut told The Center Square Thursday. “It’s in the midst of a travel scandal involving $600,000 in questionable travel spending with consultants, and so yeah, it’s time for a change. The CEO saw the handwriting on the wall.”
Greenhut noted that whoever permanently replaces Choudri must focus on restoring public trust and tightening oversight.
“There needs to be more accountability, more oversight of spending, better timelines,” Greenhut said. “The project needs to align better with the promises that were made in Proposition 1A, which created the initial $9.95 billion in bond funding. They’ve got to speed this thing up and just really get a handle on the cost. There’s a desperate need to restore faith in the project.”
In addition to Tangipa, other lawmakers in Sacramento reacted swiftly to the news. California Assembly Minority Leader Ali M. Macedo, R-Tulare, called the rail project a “black hole for taxpayers” and urged the board to enforce strict boundaries.
“While a change in leadership alone will not fix the fundamental flaws of the project, starting with the absurdity of its very existence and its ongoing drain on vital public resources, the governing Board and interim CEO must institute rigorous oversight and demand more transparency moving forward,” Macedo said in a news release. “The Board must start by ensuring Mr. Choudri is not allowed to transition into a highly paid private consultant for the project at the public’s expense.”
Tangipa said any future CEOs should realize that the rail project has been a failure from the start. He urged them to solve the problem with a reasonable approach.
“And maybe that reasonability is to just say that this California High Speed Rail, under the current plan, is non-workable and doesn’t make sense,” the Assembly member told The Center Square.
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