Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has called California’s bluff after the state ignored a federal deadline to cancel 17,000 improperly issued commercial driver’s licenses to immigrant truckers.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is withholding nearly $160 million from California for not revoking the licenses by the agreed-upon deadline of Monday, Jan. 5, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced on Wednesday.
In a post on his X account, Duffy shared a video with the COPS “Bad Boys” theme song recapping Gov. Gavin Newsom’s failures and the state’s “egregious licensing situation.”
🚨It’s RECKONING DAY for Gavin Newsom 🚨
Our demands to California were simple:
➡️ Follow the rules
➡️ Revoke the unlawfully-issued licenses to dangerous foreign drivers
➡️ Fix the system so this never happens againGavin refused. So now I am pulling nearly $160 MILLION from… pic.twitter.com/j2ckDLlRdI
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) January 7, 2026
“It’s RECKONING DAY for Gavin Newsom,” Duffy wrote. “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.”
“Gavin Newsom has failed to do so — putting the needs of illegal immigrants over the safety of the American people,” Duffy added in a DOT news release.
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. The FMCSA will pull funds awarded to California via the National Highway Performance Program and Surface Transportation Block Grant.
“While Gavin may not care about protecting you and your family on our roads, the Trump Administration does,” Duffy said in a news release. “We’re pulling this funding to ensure federal tax dollars don’t fund this charade.”
The California Department of Motor Vehicles agreed to cancel the 17,000 CDLs following an audit by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The investigation found the California DMV improperly issued the licenses with expiration dates beyond drivers’ work authorizations.
In November, the California DMV admitted to the errors and said it would revoke the CLDs within 60 days and work with FMCSA to take corrective action so the failures do not happen again.
“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.”
The California DMV hit the brakes on canceling the nondomiciled CDLs after a group of truckers filed a class-action lawsuit on Dec. 23.
The state said it was delaying the cancellations until March “to give officials more time to resolve the concerns of federal authorities,” according to the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.
USDOT Rapid Response X account also shared news of the funding freeze, adding “Gavin Newsom doesn’t want to follow the rules that keep you and your family safe on roads. Absurd. That’s why yesterday @SecDuffy pulled nearly $160 MILLION from California. FAFO.”
Gavin Newsom doesn’t want to follow the rules that keep you and your family safe on roads.
Absurd.
That’s why yesterday @SecDuffy pulled nearly $160 MILLION from California.
FAFO pic.twitter.com/UgF2Xi1yKU
— USDOT Rapid Response (@USDOTRapid) January 8, 2026
Based on the audit findings, it was discovered that more than 25% of non-domiciled CDLs issued by California were issued unlawfully. Some licenses extended four years beyond the expiration date of the CDL holder’s lawful presence documentation.
In one case, California gave a Brazilian driver a CDL with endorsements to drive a passenger bus and a school bus that was valid for months after his legal presence expired.
The DOT described it as a “systemic collapse of California’s non-domiciled CDL program.” In total, more than 20,000 active non-domiciled CDLs were issued by California in violation of federal safety regulations.
Trucking groups, including the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association, spoke out in favor of USDOT’s actions.
“The days of exploiting cheap labor on the basis of false ‘driver shortage’ claims are over,” said Todd Spencer, president of the OOIDA, per an article by CDLLIFE.com. “OOIDA and truckers across America support the Trump Administration’s actions to crack down on the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs.”
Since August, there have been at least six high-profile pileups or fatalities involving illegal migrant truck drivers that have killed 11 people in Florida, California, Indiana, Tennessee, Oregon and Washington state.
Several viral videos from truckers and law enforcement have exposed serious safety concerns on America’s highways.
In one seven-minute video posted online, a half-naked California trucker, who couldn’t speak or understand English, was confronted by Arkansas police and tested on his ability to read basic traffic signs.
In another viral video, a truck driver named Tim O’Friel recently gained attention for pulling over another trucker who was driving the wrong way on an interstate in Indiana.
On Jan. 3, Indiana State Police busted two illegal Indian truckers, who obtained CDLs in California, hauling 300 pounds of cocaine in their semi-truck.
“For too long, loopholes in this program have allowed unqualified drivers onto our highways, putting professional truckers and the motoring public at risk,” Spencer said. “Secretary Duffy and FMCSA Administrator Barrs are embracing policies that prioritize the needs of professional truckers and roadway safety.”
In May, Duffy implemented new guidance to enforce the English language proficiency requirement for truck drivers as part of a broader federal effort to ensure they can read and follow road signs.
The USDOT launched a Nationwide Non-Domiciled CDL Audit in June after growing concerns on America’s roads and failures of sanctuary states to properly vet immigrants who have been issued non-domicile CDLs.
A series of serious traffic fatalities highlight a disturbing trend that unqualified immigrant truckers pose a hazard on America’s roads. In some cases, the semi-truck drivers were driving under the influence or distracted and slammed into stopped vehicles.
In other cases, they could not speak English or read basic road signs. Several of the immigrants crossed the border and obtained work authorization under the Biden administration.
