Ian Choudri stepped down as state investigators and the rail authority’s board examined hundreds of thousands of dollars in consultant travel costs.
SACRAMENTO, CA — Ian Choudri resigned as chief executive of the California High-Speed Rail Authority after an inspector general investigation found widespread problems with consultant travel expenses, adding another leadership change to a project already facing major financial and scheduling pressures.
Choudri’s resignation took effect immediately, board Chair Steve Kawa said Thursday, Oct. 29. The board named California Department of Finance Director Joe Stephenshaw as interim chief executive. Choudri, who had led the authority since 2024, said in a message to employees that he was leaving to focus on personal and family priorities. His departure came weeks after the board restricted his contracting authority in response to the inspector general’s findings.
The investigation examined travel billed by consultants working for four firms from 2024 through 2026. The inspector general found that about $680,500 in travel expenses did not have the advance approval required under state rules. Of that amount, approximately $592,000 was considered unallowable. Some news reports have described the broader amount of questioned travel expenses as roughly $800,000, but the inspector general’s findings provide more specific figures. The report did not find that Choudri personally spent $800,000 on travel.
Investigators said the authority had reimbursed expenses that included premium airfare and upgraded rideshare services, along with trips involving gyms, an escape room, a nightclub, a cigar lounge and other locations where records did not clearly establish a state business purpose. The inspector general also found travel claims that lacked receipts or adequate supporting documents and cases in which required approvals were not obtained before trips took place.
The investigation involved consultants working for KPMG LLP, Nossaman LLP, AECOM-Fluor Joint Venture and SYSTRA/TYPSA Joint Venture. Investigators said authority employees did not consistently review travel requests and invoices closely enough to ensure that expenses complied with state rules and contract requirements. In some cases, consultants said they traveled at the request of senior authority officials, including Choudri. Those statements increased scrutiny of the agency’s internal controls and management of outside contractors.
Earlier in October, the authority’s board voted to limit Choudri’s power over contracts. The change required additional legal review for contracts and contract-management decisions that previously could have been handled under authority delegated to the chief executive. The board took the action after hearing the inspector general’s findings and the authority’s plans to correct weaknesses in its review of consultant expenses.
Kawa said after the resignation that the leadership change reflected the board’s focus on accountability and transparency. Choudri, in his resignation message, described leading the authority as a meaningful part of his career. He had been appointed in August 2024 after working for decades on major transportation and infrastructure projects in the United States and abroad.
The leadership change comes at a critical point for California’s long-running high-speed rail effort. Voters approved nearly $10 billion in bonds for the project in 2008, when plans called for a passenger rail system linking major cities including San Francisco and Los Angeles. The project has since faced repeated delays, rising construction estimates, legal disputes and uncertainty over how to finance the full system. Current work is concentrated in the Central Valley, where the authority is developing a planned initial operating segment between Merced and Bakersfield.
The authority also lost billions of dollars in previously awarded federal funding during Choudri’s tenure. California challenged the federal government’s decision before dropping its lawsuit in December 2025 and shifting greater attention toward state funding and potential private investment. The authority’s 2026 business plan places the cost of completing the first phase of the system well above the estimates presented when voters approved the project, increasing pressure on state officials to demonstrate tighter financial controls while securing money needed for construction.
Despite the turmoil, the authority continued making major project decisions during the October board meetings, including approving a contract for high-speed trainsets and advancing environmental decisions for the Los Angeles-to-Anaheim section. The board’s appointment of Stephenshaw, a state finance official, places an official with extensive budget responsibilities in charge on an interim basis as the authority addresses the inspector general’s findings and continues work on construction, contracts and future financing.
Stephenshaw began serving as interim chief executive following the board’s Oct. 29 action. The authority has not announced a permanent replacement for Choudri. Oversight of consultant spending, implementation of corrective measures and the project’s broader funding needs remain among the immediate issues facing the agency under its new leadership.
Author note: Last updated October 30, 2026.