Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy to Gavin Newsom on Illegal Trucking Licenses: Time’s Up

USDOT is withholding $160 million from California for not revoking illegally issued licenses & failing to prioritize the safety of Americans on our roads

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy today announced that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is withholding approximately $160 million from the State of California for failing to cancel over 17,000 illegally issued Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) by the agreed-upon deadline of January 5, 2026. 

The FMCSA issued a Final Determination after California refused to cancel the licenses on time, allowing foreign drivers with invalid licenses to continue operating on American roads. 

“It’s reckoning day for Gavin Newsom and California. Our demands were simple: follow the rules, revoke the unlawfully-issued licenses to dangerous foreign drivers, and fix the system so this never happens again,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “Gavin Newsom has failed to do so – putting the needs of illegal immigrants over the safety of the American people. While Gavin may not care about protecting you and your family on our roads, the Trump Administration does. We’re pulling this funding to ensure federal tax dollars don’t fund this charade.” 

As part of the Secretary’s Nationwide Non-Domiciled CDL Audit, FMCSA uncovered a systemic collapse of California’s non-domiciled CDL program, which allowed the state to illegally issue licenses with expiration dates extending years beyond a driver’s lawful presence and to grant CDLs to individuals who were ineligible to hold them. In total, more than 20,000 active non-domiciled CDLs were issued by California in violation of federal safety regulations. 

“Federal regulations are clear: states must correct safety deficiencies on a schedule mutually agreed upon by the Agency, and California failed to meet its commitment to rescind these unlawfully-issued licenses by January 5,” said FMCSA Administrator Derek D. Barrs. “We will not accept a corrective plan that knowingly leaves thousands of drivers holding noncompliant licenses behind the wheel of 80,000-pound trucks in open defiance of federal safety regulations.”

Reminder:

In September, a nationwide audit of trucking licenses exposed more than 25% of non-domiciled CDLs issued by California were issued unlawfully – including with licenses extending as many as four years beyond the expiration date of their lawful presence documentation. In one shocking case, California gave a driver from Brazil a CDL with endorsements to drive a passenger bus and a school bus that was valid for months after his legal presence expired. 

In November, California agreed to revoke every illegally issued license within 60 days and work with FMCSA so the agency could verify that the failures that allowed these licenses to be issued are corrected.     

California has failed to do so. In response, FMCSA will withhold nearly $160 million of funds from California via the National Highway Performance Program and Surface Transportation Block Grant.

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