California has revoked 17,000 nondomiciled commercial driver’s licenses issued illegally in the state, after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy demanding they do so.
The Transportation Department and the state of California have disagreed over the Golden State’s compliance with federal trucking laws for several months. Duffy continues to reprimand the state for its noncompliance, and California officials have repeatedly argued they are following all regulations.
In a Wednesday announcement, the Transportation Department said the California Department of Motor Vehicles had issued 17,000 nondomiciled CDLs in violation of federal regulations. Duffy has made cracking down on non-English speaking commercial truck drivers a cornerstone priority of his department. His efforts heightened after a fatal semitruck crash in the summer caused by a non-English proficient illegal immigrant, who had one of his licenses issued in California.
“After weeks of claiming they did nothing wrong, Gavin Newsom and California have been caught red-handed,” Duffy said in a statement. “Now that we’ve exposed their lies, 17,000 illegally issued trucking licenses are being revoked.”
Duffy reiterated his threat to pull $160 million in federal funding from the state if it does not revoke all CDLs issued in violation of federal standards.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Duffy said. “My team will continue to force California to prove they have removed every illegal immigrant from behind the wheel of semitrucks and school buses.”
The California Department of Motor Vehicles did not respond to the Washington Examiner‘s requests for comment.
In late October, the state’s DMV told the Washington Examiner that the Transportation Department previously allowed CDLs “for asylum seekers and refugees.”
In a September letter obtained by the Washington Examiner, Alicia Fowler, the general counsel for the California State Transportation Agency, argued that the state is in full compliance with federal laws.
“California’s laws, regulations, standards, and orders are either identical to or have the same effect as the federal safety requirements—including the English language proficiency requirement,” Fowler wrote.
However, a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration audit this year revealed that 25% of nondomiciled CDLs were issued out of compliance with federal regulations. The audit found “systemic non-compliance” in California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington.
A spokesperson for the Transportation Department said it “urges all states to revoke illegally issued CDLs,” and that California was the first state found to be out of compliance.
California is also one of the top CDL-issuing states in the nation, according to the department.
“Sounds like the federal Secretary of Transportation needs a lesson on his own road rules,” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D-CA) press office wrote in an X post. “The facts are plain and simple — California commercial driver’s license holders had a fatal crash rate nearly 40% LOWER than the national average.”
The Transportation Department said it has notified the 17,000 nondomiciled CDL holders that their licenses are out of compliance with federal requirements. These licenses will expire in 60 days, according to the department.