Duffy Yanks $160M From California Over Non-Domiciled CDLs
State Missed Jan. 5 Deadline to Revoke 17,000 Trucking Licenses
Key Takeaways:
- FMCSA is withholding 4% ($158.3 million) of the state’s National Highway Performance Program and the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program funds beginning in fiscal 2027.
- The agency says California “failed to deliver” a mutually agreed cancellation of 17,400 illegally issued non-domiciled CDLs by a Jan. 5 deadline..
- California has declared a delay until March for the planned cancellation of the 17,000 non-domiciled CDLs, though Duffy says the Jan. 5 deadline is unchanged.
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U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is making good on a threat and withholding nearly $160 million from California for failing to revoke more than 17,000illegally issued non-domiciled commercial driver licenses by the “agreed-upon” Jan. 5 deadline.
“It’s reckoning day for [Gov.] Gavin Newsom and California,” Duffy announced Jan. 7 while releasing a “” dated the same day issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
“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,” Duffy declared. “Gavin Newsom has failed to do so — putting the needs of illegal immigrants over the safety of the American people. … We’re pulling this funding to ensure federal tax dollars don’t fund this charade.”
ATA Weighs In
American Trucking Associations issued a statement declaring safety to be the overarching issue.
“Ensuring the safety of our nation’s roadways depends on consistent application and enforcement of commercial driver licensing standards nationwide,” ATA President Chris Spear said. “USDOT has raised ongoing concerns over the past several months that certain California-issued licenses did not fully comply with federal CDL requirements, posing potential risks to public safety.
“A CDL assures the motoring public that a driver has met rigorous safety standards — standards that must be enforced uniformly in all 50 states. Because truck drivers operate across state lines, when even one state cuts corners, the consequences are felt nationwide.
“We call on California authorities to work with the U.S. Department of Transportation to expedite this process to ensure only qualified drivers with properly-issued CDLs are permitted to operate.”
Notice Sent to Newsom, DMV
The 10-page notice to Newsom and Steve Gordon, director of the California Department of Motor Vehicles, was penned by FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs.
FMCSA's Derek Barrs (right), shown with DOT's Sean Duffy, says the agency "remains committed to working with DMV officials to bring California’s CDL program into substantial compliance." (Noel Fletcher/Transport Topics)
“FMCSA is deeply disappointed by DMV’s failure to implement all required corrective actions set forth in the Preliminary Determination,” Barrs said. “The withholding of federal funds is the direct and necessary consequence of California’s own actions and its demonstrated disregard for federal safety standards. The agency remains committed to working with DMV officials to bring California’s CDL program into substantial compliance to ensure that further withholding of funds or decertification of California’s CDL program is unnecessary.”
He acknowledged California has made or plans to implement some required changes but it “failed to deliver” a mutually agreed cancellation by Jan. 5 of 17,400 non-domiciled CDLs. A remaining 2,700 were supposed to be revoked by Feb. 13 as a corrective action for California issuing 20,100 non-domiciled CDLs that expire past the date of the driver’s legal U.S. presence.
Consequently, FMCSA is withholding 4% ($158.3 million) of the state’s National Highway Performance Program and the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program funds beginning in fiscal 2027 that are no longer available to California due to “a substantial noncompliance determination.”
Communications Detailed
Barrs’ letter detailed numerous communications between FMCSA and California DMV between Sept. 26 when the agency sent a preliminary noncompliance notice to the state over its problematic CDLs through Dec. 24. California announced in November it would revoke 17,000 licenses and then had multiple interactions with FMCSA later to push that date back, which FMCSA opposed.
California has declared a delay until March in a planned cancellation of 17,000 non-domiciled commercial driver licenses though Duffy has reacted by underscoring an unchanged Jan. 5 revocation deadline.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Bloomberg News)
The agency took issue with a notice posted Dec. 30 by the California Department of Motor Vehicles that “unilaterally informed the public” the deadline would be extended to March 6 to revoke the 17,000 non-domiciled CDLs. Barrs accused California of issuing the public notice “without assent from FMCSA.” Also the agency “advised DMV that an extension to March 6, 2026, was unacceptable because extending the timeline for the cancellation of improperly issued CLPs and CDLs is a continuing safety concern.”
Additionally, Barrs stated the DMV has failed to rescind that public deadline extension notice, which indicated California was working with FMCSA “to resolve their concerns with DMV’s CDL licensing process.” The DMV notice said the deadline extension beyond Jan. 5 would enable “the parties to find a solution that permits drivers to remain working to serve our communities. The affected drivers will be receiving letters shortly, informing them of the extension.”
Gordon said in the notice, “Commercial drivers are an important part of our economy — our supply chains don’t move, and our communities don’t stay connected without them. We are hopeful that our collaboration with the federal government will give FMCSA confidence in our updated processes to allow California to promptly resume issuance of nondomiciled commercial driver’s licenses.”
Furthermore, DMV stated it is ready to resume issuing CDLs, “including corrected licenses to eligible drivers.”
Duffy issued a warning Dec. 30 to California in a social media post. “Gavin Newsom is lying. The deadline to revoke illegally issued, unvetted foreign trucker licenses is still January 5. California does NOT have an “extension” to keep breaking the law and putting Americans at risk on the roads. Miss the deadline, Gavin, and the @USDOT will act — including cutting nearly $160 million in federal funding.”
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 again
Gavin refused. So now I am pulling nearly $160 MILLION from… — Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy)
FMCSA noted its auditors found CDLs and CLPs issued in California to ineligible drivers and also to drivers whose licenses remained valid years beyond the expiration of their legal U.S. residency status.
California’s Reaction
“We strongly disagree with the federal government’s decision to withhold vital transportation funding from California — their action jeopardizes public safety because these funds are critical for maintaining and improving the roadways we all rely on every day,” a DMV spokesperson told Transport Topics. “The DMV is fully compliant with state and federal regulations and had engaged with positive conversations with FMCSA and DMV about extending the Jan. 5 cancellation date to allow additional time for FMCSA to review the department’s commercial driver’s license program.”
According to the DMV, California informed FMCSA on Dec. 10 it had met all required federal compliance regulations and planned to begin reissuing those CDLs on Dec. 17.
FMCSA objected and a back-and-forth series of discussions ensued. DMV contends it had an agreement with FMCSA on Dec. 18 to postpone the cancellations but when reaching out four times afterward it received no agency response — even to a Dec. 31 notification it would delay revoking the licenses to March 6.
“Non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses [holders] have legal presence in the United States and had been granted work authorization by the federal government as confirmed by the federal government,” the DMV spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the California State Transportation Agency, which is over the DMV, explained to Transport Topics in December that on Nov. 6, the DMV notified 17,000 customers with non-domiciled CDLs that their licenses would be canceled in 60 days.
“The DMV took this action following a review of driver records and a determination these CDLs were not issued in conformance with California law (13 CCR §26.02), which requires that the expiration date of a CDL must be on or before the expiration of the legal-presence documents provided to the DMV. The DMV has since made the necessary corrections to bring us into compliance with FMCSA’s rules and regulations,” the spokesperson said.
DOT, California Remain at Odds
Duffy has repeatedly alluded to problems with California adhering to FMCSA regulations and threatened to withhold funding. He and Newsom repeatedly have traded barbs over social media. Duffy and Barrs in press conferences also have cited California continuously for noncompliance with FMCSA regulations.
For instance in an Oct. 30 meeting with the press, Duffy declared: “California is less than cooperative. We’re in a process of going through a review and we have the opportunity to pull $160 million of additional dollars from the state of California. That’s about 4% of the money that we send California from DOT. We’ll be able to pull another 4% and another 4% if they don’t comply. Eventually we can pull their ability to issue commercial driver’s licenses. We will get compliance. They will comply.”
California filed a lawsuit Dec. 13 against DOT and FMCSA for permanently rescinding $33 million for failing to enforce revived federal English-language proficiency mandates for truckers unable to sufficiently communicate in English and read highway signs.
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