California Lawmaker Demands Immediate Ouster of High-Speed Rail CEO After Domestic Violence Arrest
The taxpayer-funded disaster known as California’s High-Speed Rail project just hit a new low: its CEO was arrested for domestic violence involving his fiancée and teenage daughter—mere hours after glad-handing with Governor Gavin Newsom at a publicity stunt masquerading as a press conference.
Now a Central Valley Republican is saying what every reasonable Californian is thinking: Ian Choudri must go.
Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo isn’t mincing words. In a scathing letter to Newsom dated February 25, she demanded Choudri’s immediate resignation, calling his continued leadership “an insult to every taxpayer in the Central Valley and throughout the State of California.”
She’s absolutely right.
A Pattern of Corruption Nobody’s Talking About
Choudri’s February 4 arrest at his Folsom home should have ended his tenure immediately. Instead, he’s been placed on “leave”—the typical Sacramento dance that allows disgraced bureaucrats to collect paychecks while lawyers figure out damage control.
The details are damning. A neighbor called police just before midnight after witnessing Choudri, his fiancée Lyudmyla “Mila” Starostyuk, and his teenage daughter arguing in their front yard. The 57-year-old rail executive was arrested on suspicion of domestic battery after allegedly intervening in a fight between Starostyuk and his daughter.
While no charges have been filed—a fact Choudri’s defenders will undoubtedly trumpet—the optics alone make his position untenable. This is a man appointed in August 2024 to lead a project already notorious for waste, delays, and broken promises.
But the arrest is only half the story.
Follow the Money
Here’s where this goes from embarrassing to potentially criminal: Starostyuk was hired last month by KPMG, the accounting services firm holding a $24 million contract with the High-Speed Rail Authority.
Read that again. The CEO’s fiancée now works for a company receiving tens of millions in taxpayer dollars from the agency her soon-to-be husband runs.
Choudri’s attorney, Allen Sawyer, claims Starostyuk’s position “is not affiliated with the high speed rail authority” and concerns “a completely different sector of business.” That’s the kind of hair-splitting nonsense that might fly in a courtroom but fails the basic smell test with voters.
KPMG has a $24 million contract with the rail authority. Starostyuk works for KPMG. Choudri runs the rail authority. The conflict of interest is glaring, regardless of which specific department she works in.
Newsom’s Deafening Silence
Even Newsom—never one to let a good crisis interfere with his presidential ambitions—acknowledged at a February 19 press conference that the High-Speed Rail board would investigate “not only the issues that were brought to light but some of these broader issues as well.”
Translation: We’re hoping this blows over.
It shouldn’t. And it won’t.
Macedo’s letter cuts through the bureaucratic doublespeak: “Given his arrest and the allegations against him, Mr. Choudri’s continued tenure would irreparably damage the public’s trust in their government.”
That trust is already in tatters. The High-Speed Rail project has become a national punchline—a $100 billion monument to government incompetence that was supposed to connect San Francisco to Los Angeles but has yet to move a single passenger.
The Insult to Central Valley Taxpayers
Macedo represents parts of the San Joaquin Valley directly impacted by this boondoggle. These are communities that were promised jobs, economic development, and improved infrastructure. Instead, they’ve watched billions vanish into environmental studies, consultant fees, and construction delays.
Now they’re expected to accept leadership from a man arrested for domestic violence who may have facilitated a sweetheart deal for his fiancée?
Absolutely not.
The Central Valley has borne the brunt of California’s dysfunction for too long. Farmers have watched their water disappear while Sacramento politicians lecture them about conservation. Small businesses have collapsed under regulatory burdens while Silicon Valley gets tax breaks. Working families have fled the state while wealthy elites preach about “equity.”
Choudri’s continued employment represents everything broken about California governance: accountability for thee but not for me.
What Happens Next
Newsom has three options. He can force Choudri’s resignation immediately, restoring at least a shred of credibility to this disaster of a project. He can continue the charade of an “investigation” while Choudri collects a taxpayer-funded salary. Or he can brazen it out completely, betting that California voters have become so numb to corruption that one more scandal won’t matter.
Based on his track record, expect option two with a side of sanctimonious rhetoric about “due process.”
But Macedo’s letter changes the calculation. She’s given voice to the frustration millions of Californians feel watching their tax dollars evaporate while the people responsible face zero consequences.
The Bigger Picture
The High-Speed Rail debacle isn’t just about Choudri. It’s about a governing class that views taxpayer money as a personal slush fund. It’s about projects greenlighted not because they make sense but because they advance political careers. It’s about an iron triangle of politicians, contractors, and consultants who profit regardless of results.
Choudri’s arrest and the conflict-of-interest allegations surrounding his fiancée simply expose what many have known for years: this project was never about connecting California cities. It was about connecting politically favored insiders to an endless stream of public money.
The fact that Newsom appeared alongside Choudri at a press conference touting a “150-acre construction facility”—hours before the CEO’s arrest—perfectly encapsulates the farce. They were celebrating a storage yard while the actual train remains years, if not decades, from operation.
Time for Accountability
Macedo’s demand is both reasonable and overdue. Choudri must resign immediately. The High-Speed Rail board must conduct a thorough investigation of all potential conflicts of interest. And California voters must finally hold accountable the politicians who continue championing this failed project.
The domestic violence allegations alone warrant removal. The potential corruption makes it mandatory.
Every day Choudri remains on leave is another insult to California taxpayers. Every dollar the High-Speed Rail Authority spends under this cloud of scandal is another dollar wasted.
Newsom hand-picked Choudri for this position. Now Newsom must answer for that choice—and explain why anyone should trust his judgment on anything else.
The governor’s presidential ambitions may depend on California Democrats looking the other way. But Central Valley Republicans like Macedo won’t let this slide. And neither should voters anywhere in the state who care about accountability, transparency, and basic competence in government.
Ian Choudri’s tenure is untenable. His resignation isn’t just appropriate—it’s essential. Anything less proves the entire system is rigged beyond repair.
