Ian Choudri, CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, resigned Wednesday, more than a month after a state watchdog found that the agency had improperly used public funds.
In September, the California Office of the Inspector General released an investigative report finding that the rail authority had paid $543,000 in unauthorized travel-related reimbursements for consultants, including expenses for international and out-of-state trips.
The report also questioned whether official business and personal activities had been mixed under Choudri’s leadership. The authority paid $81,000 for consultants’ travel expenses to locations that lacked an official business purpose, including gyms, an escape room and a nightclub.
Choudri cited “important personal and family priorities” in his resignation email, obtained by CalMatters.
“This has not been an easy decision, as leading the authority has been one of the most meaningful and rewarding chapters of my professional life,” he wrote.
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Choudri was appointed to lead the state agency in August 2024. He had faced mounting pressure over operational delays and the agency’s management.
Board Chair Steve Kawa formally acknowledged the transition and thanked Choudri for his service to the state’s high-speed rail program.
“We thank Mr. Choudri for his service and his contributions to the high-speed rail program, and we wish him and his family well,” Kawa said in a statement.
Choudri stepped down as the board was scheduled to evaluate whether his performance warranted a $25,000 annual bonus, according to CalMatters.
The agency is responsible for building a high-speed rail line intended to significantly reduce travel time between Los Angeles and San Francisco, which are about 380 miles apart.
The project, once touted as a transportation milestone and compared with high-speed rail networks in China and Japan, has faced years of delays and funding challenges. Eighteen years after California voters approved a multibillion-dollar bond measure for the project, construction has yet to reach the stage of laying tracks, as the agency continues to seek funding.
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The Trump administration, which has had a contentious relationship with California officials, withdrew $4 billion in federal funding from the project last year. At the time, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called it a “boondoggle” and a “train to nowhere.”
Xavier Becerra, a candidate in California’s gubernatorial race, suggested this week that the rail authority would undergo a staff shake-up if he defeats Republican rival Steve Hilton.
“We’re going to have to scrub a lot. The high-speed rail authority’s going to have to look really different if we’re going to continue this project,” Becerra told KCRA News in an interview that aired hours before Choudri’s resignation.
“I need to gain the confidence of the public. I can’t gain it if I keep the same characters in place,” he added.
Joe Stephenshaw, director of the California Department of Finance, will serve as interim CEO.