Will Metro get $3.2B in federal funds for Olympics? Hahn says it's not clear, but LA will be ready

To the critics who call her a “fake Metro rider,” L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn says “fair enough.”

Hahn’s monthly rides from San Pedro to downtown L.A. for Metro’s board meetings, a practice she committed to when she became chair last year and one she said she’ll continue to do, are regular but minimal — and she acknowledges that. Still, Hahn insists they were invaluable.

Hahn said she met the diverse set of people who ride the system and experienced what happens when the bus breaks down on your way to work.

Hahn said her time on the bus influenced some of her policy decisions, including promoting proactive outreach to homeless riders and establishing a Know-Your-Rights campaign in the wake of federal immigration enforcement.

The Metro Board Chair turns over yearly, cycling among a county supervisor, city representative, and the mayor of L.A. In July, Hahn passed the gavel to Whittier City Councilmember Fernando Dutra. As a county supervisor, Hahn will remain on the board.

Below are selections from an interview with Hahn, in which she reflected on the challenges and accomplishments during her time as chair.

You can listen to the unedited interview here:

Hahn’s fears about federal immigration enforcement were 'exceeded' by reality

Kavish Harjai: You directed Metro to launch a Know-Your-Rights campaign earlier this year. What were your fears about immigration and the administration back then, and have they come true?

Janice Hahn: I never thought I would live in a time where our own federal government, through the Office of Homeland Security, would come in and engage in these irresponsible and reckless raids and sweeps of good people who are going about their lives, they’re going to work, they’re taking their kids to school, they’re sitting on a bus stop ready to ride our system, they’re going to their court appearances for their hearings.

To think that these ICE agents have come in with no respect and [are] treating people like they’re treating [them] — I honestly never thought I would live in this time to see grown men slammed to the ground, their faces pressed into chainlink fences, whisked away in unmarked vans with no ability to contact their families. I honestly did not think that I would see this day.

In L.A. County, we are trying to do whatever we can, to the best of our ability, to protect our residents, making sure our residents understand their rights because they absolutely do have rights as a resident of Los Angeles County.

Closing Metro stations should be a 'last resort'

Los Angeles, CA - June 14: Protesters clash against law enforcement at the "No Kings" Day demonstration in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, June 14, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

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Kavish Harjai: The board approved a motion calling for updated protocols for station closures and service interruptions. [...] If you could make service better during the “No Kings Day” protest, what would that have looked like?

Janice Hahn: I mean for me, it has to be a last resort to shut down service or close a station [...] We have to be a neutral party here — we have to be the transportation agency that gets people safely to a protest and safely home.

These protests are, many people think, not just our right but our obligation to protest against a government that we disagree with. Well, Metro is that public agency that has sort of promised to get people where they need to get to, safely, and to home again.

I’m hoping that the protocol would speak to that last resort option to shut down service because of a lawful protest.

Expansion of weapons detection necessary to 'keep system safe'

Kavish Harjai: The second phase of the weapons detection program launched at the end of April. Those detection pillars were installed at the Norwalk C-Line station and the San Pedro A-Line station. Do you think this is a system-wide, like scalable solution?

Janice Hahn: I think it should be. I don’t think we can afford not to. If we want our system safe, particularly when we’re preparing for some of the mega events, I think it’s a must. I think we need to figure out the technology that exists so it doesn’t slow people’s commutes down. And also, it’s a big message that you can’t take a weapon onto our system. We already know that it’s kind of been a deterrent. We think people that see the pillars in place decide, “Oh, maybe today’s not the day that I board with this weapon.” So we think it’s a deterrent as well, but I think it should be part of our system going forward.

A new "weapons detection" system was installed at the San Pedro Metro stop along the A line going towards Long Beach. Metro security officers are present to search riders when the system detects metal objects.

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LA will 'absolutely' be ready for the Olympics

Kavish Harjai: There are some challenges, specifically with the Olympics, which is Metro’s ask for $3.2 billion [in federal funding]. What’s the status of that ask?

Janice Hahn: We’re still asking. I don’t know if we’re gonna get the whole $3.2 [billion]. A lot of what we need is to lease extra buses. We’re gonna lease close to 3,000 buses, which also means we need to lease the drivers of the buses, which means we need to figure out where they’re gonna stay and live, and the training that they’re gonna need to navigate our streets in L.A. County because the Olympics venues are all over. They’re not just in the city of L.A. So that’s a big undertaking.

I will say that I was interested in seeing the recent development from the White House, where President Trump has appointed himself to head up the 2028 Olympic Games Task Force. There was Casey Wasserman, who is the head of our LA28 Games, standing with him. So maybe that kind of an interest from the president in our games might cause the resources to flow, as well. We’re kind of waiting and seeing, but clearly this is a huge undertaking, and we’re going to need help.

Kavish Harjai: You obviously have connections in Washington. What is your role specifically here?

Janice Hahn: My connections used to be better in the last administration [laughs]. I think our role is to continue to position these Olympics as the United States is hosting the world. We’re going to continue to advocate, to write letters, to lobby for what we need to make this a successful games.

A lot of people are like, “Are you sure that L.A. should host the Olympics? There’s so many things on the horizon that could be against that.” To that I say, “Absolutely.” We’ve been planning for these Olympics for almost eight years, and we’re going to be ready. It’s going to be fantastic.