The Trump administration on Monday ordered 110 commercial truck-driving schools to shut down immediately, accusing the training providers of willfully disregarding long-standing federal rules requiring drivers to understand and communicate in English.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the schools had trained more than 5,000 drivers who were later cited for English-language proficiency violations during roadside inspections. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin echoed Duffy’s concerns, saying much of the problem stems from liberal “sanctuary” states and cities that are passing off commercial driver’s licenses to individuals who haven’t earned them.
“You have to speak English to operate a commercial motor vehicle,” Duffy said. “I didn’t create that rule. President Trump didn’t create that rule. That rule has been in place for decades.”
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration executed the emergency removal orders on Monday, FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs said. The schools are being removed from the federal Training Provider Registry and will no longer be permitted to provide federally recognized entry-level driver training.
Officials connected allegedly inadequate or fraudulent training to deadly crashes. Barrs said the Platinum Plus Truck Driving School in California certified 36 drivers later cited for language violations, including a trainee who killed a person in Oklahoma. He said ASC Technical Institute in Texas certified 58 such drivers, including one who ran a stop sign and killed a man.
Officials also highlighted Delilah Coleman, who was 5 when a commercial driver struck her family’s vehicle, leaving her in a three-week coma with a severe brain injury.
Barrs said that unqualified commercial drivers have caused hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries nationwide.
Mullin, a former Republican senator from Oklahoma, said the Oklahoma death helped prompt an enforcement operation along Interstate 40. Mullin said its first day resulted in 107 trucks being placed out of service, including vehicles driven by people whose licenses listed “no name given.”
“These individuals are dangerous because of the failure from the previous administration, from the Biden administration,” Mullin said. “They killed hundreds of people and, unfortunately, injured thousands.”
The administration blamed former President Joe Biden and his policies, arguing that lax immigration enforcement, insufficient oversight, and a system that allowed driving schools to self-certify enabled unqualified applicants to obtain commercial driver’s licenses. Duffy said the Biden administration admitted millions of migrants without adequate access to their criminal or driving histories.
The FMCSA has proposed removing another 160 schools after investigators inspected 400 providers and found 40% failed federal requirements. Alleged violations included unlicensed instructors, inadequate training space, missing classrooms, and unsupervised driving.
DHS AND DOT BLITZ US HIGHWAYS, TAKE 766 UNSAFE TRUCK DRIVERS AND VEHICLES OFF THE ROAD
FMCSA also announced a nationwide audit of state-authorized third-party CDL skills testers, conducted with Homeland Security Investigations. Federal regulations require CDL testing to be administered in English.
Barrs said nearly 30,000 drivers have been placed out of service for English-language violations and warned states could face consequences if they fail to oversee testers and enforce federal standards.