California’s insane $2B ask to keep LA Olympics from becoming traffic hell 

Los Angeles wants $2 billion in federal cash to prepare its transportation system for the 2028 Olympics, but the Trump administration left the request out of its budget.

LA Metro says the money is needed to move millions of visitors during the Games.

Half would go toward temporarily acquiring, operating and storing nearly 1,750 additional buses.

The other $1 billion would pay for pedestrian improvements, high-speed traffic lanes and street-design networks connecting Olympic venues.

The House Appropriations Committee has advanced an initial $875 million, but the full request still needs approval from both chambers of Congress — and ultimately President Trump’s signature.

 The next federal fiscal cycle begins Oct. 1.

LA Metro’s board and California Democrats have repeatedly pressed Washington for the money, including efforts to get the Trump administration to put it in its annual budget.

It didn’t.

The administration’s budget did include increased federal funding for Olympic security involving the Department of Homeland Security, FBI and Secret Service.

Now Democratic lawmakers are warning that Washington’s refusal to fully fund LA’s transportation wish list could leave visitors facing more traffic, fewer buses and unreliable public transit.

Rep. Laura Friedman said Wednesday that the lack of federal assistance could worsen congestion and public transit reliability.

“That will be a terrible result, not just for Los Angeles, but for the whole nation,” Friedman said.

Friedman convened a panel in West Hollywood with Democratic colleagues to grill regional transportation officials about whether LA will be ready to move the millions of visitors expected for the Games.

Rep. Judy Chu also called for federal assistance.

“ Our local partners can’t do this alone,” Chu said. “Hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games is an opportunity for the entire country, and Los Angeles should have a strong federal partner to help us prepare.”

The transportation funding fight comes as LA faces another Olympic-related financial headache.

City Controller Kenneth Mejia has requested financial documents from LA28, the private organization behind the Games, as questions mount over the city’s financial relationship with the organization.

“Never before in this City’s history has a private org been backstopped by the City of LA to carry out an endeavor of this size and cost.

Today, we requested all financial documents from LA28 owed to the City to provide the transparency & accountability that you all deserve,” he wrote on X.

Under the Constitution, federal spending requires approval by Congress, and the president must sign the final spending bill before the money can be spent.

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