L.A. struggling to get Olympics transit money from Sacramento

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Set us as preferred Los Angeles officials have long complained that the Trump administration hasn’t done enough to prioritize transportation funding for the 2028 Summer Olympics in the deep-blue metropolis, but Democratic Gov.Gavin Newsom and the Democrat-dominated state Legislature are turning out to be just as tight with a buck.Sacramento has rejected the vast majority of transportation funding requests linked to the 2028 Olympics — a situation that leaves L.A.

Metro, the giant transit agency, in an unexpected position: struggling as much with Sacramento as with the Republican-controlled White House and Congress when it comes to financial support to move athletes and visitors during an Olympics that is now just 22 months away.L.A.Metro asked for $379 million for Olympics-related transportation projects in the just-completed legislative session.

It got only $20 million.Among the requests for state money that lawmakers rejected:The behind-the-scenes budget fight in Sacramento comes as L.A.

has been locked in a delicate dance with Washington over funding Congress needs to allocate, likely with Trump’s blessing.Legislators in Sacramento signaled they are loathe to push money toward Olympic transportation in the face of what they see as stalling in Washington.“We started to hear this phrase that they didn’t want to ‘bail out the federal government,’” said one Southern California transportation official, who declined to be named to speak candidly about closed-door talks with state lawmakers.

“That felt like a way to avoid a serious conversation about what was really needed.”Newsom’s office referred questions on Olympics transit to Caltrans.A spokesman there said the state has dedicated more than $300 million to the 2028 effort, and also “advocated for necessary federal funding to augment state and local commitments.”On Sunday, the governor appeared in front of the Memorial Coliseum with...