- California reversed its plan to cancel 17,000 commercial licenses.
- Licenses were issued with dates that exceeded work permit limits.
- DOT says the licenses violate federal safety rules and deadlines.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is freezing $160 million in federal funds earmarked for California, citing the state’s refusal to cancel commercial driver’s licenses issued to more than 17,000 foreign-born truckers. Federal officials say the licenses were given illegally and should have been revoked months ago.
The Trump administration spent much of 2025 tightening the rules around commercial licenses for immigrants, with a renewed focus on enforcing English proficiency standards. That clampdown followed several widely publicized crashes involving overseas drivers, which drew attention to gaps in oversight.
Will California Back Down?
In November, California appeared to align with the administration’s push. State officials indicated they would revoke thousands of licenses on the grounds that the expiration dates on federal work permits didn’t match those on the state-issued credentials. The move came after the Department of Transportation warned it might withhold critical infrastructure funds.
Read: California Changes Its Mind About Immigrant Truckers, And Trump’s Not Going To Be Happy
At that point, California acknowledged that its licensing system had been out of step with a state law requiring commercial driver’s licenses to expire on or before the date a driver’s federal work authorization ends. Then, just before the holidays, the state reversed course. It announced that it would no longer invalidate the licenses, despite the earlier warnings.
A Federal Response
That decision quickly drew the ire from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy, who confirmed that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will now withhold $160 million in funds.
“It’s reckoning day for Gavin Newsom and California,” Duffy said. “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. 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.”
FMCSA Administrator Derek D. Barrs added that the agency “will not accept a corrective path that knowingly leaves thousands of drivers holding noncompliant licenses behind the wheel of 80,000-pound trucks in open defiance of federal safety regulations.”
