California Democrats have spent nearly two decades insisting that the state’s high-speed rail project needs just one more appropriation, one more redesign, and one more permit to succeed. But a new report from the project’s inspector general should finally end this charade.

California High-Speed Rail Inspector General Benjamin Belnap has warned lawmakers that the rail authority could exhaust existing funding by December 2027 unless it is granted new money. Belnap concluded that the authority has failed to make that danger clear in its latest business plan.