SACRAMENTO - California high-speed rail officials on Friday downplayed the impact the possible appointment of long-time project opponent and California Rep. Kevin McCarthy to Speaker of the House would have on the project’s future. “At this point we’ve got federal money, we have not received any new federal money in five years and our current plans do not assume any new federal money,” Jeff Morales, CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, told Reuters in an interview. The 800-mile (1,287 km) high-speed rail line - which would connect Los Angeles and San Francisco by 2029 with trains hurtling at 220 miles per hour - is considered the most ambitious infrastructure project currently planned in the United States.