Transportation Department takes emergency action on commercial driver’s licenses

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(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Transportation is taking emergency action to issue new commercial driver’s license rules, which went into effect immediately. It also took immediate enforcement action against California “for gross negligence.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the emergency action will drastically restrict who is eligible for a non-domiciled commercial learner’s permits (CLPs) and commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs). The action was taken in response to an ongoing nationwide audit by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which identified “a catastrophic pattern of states issuing licenses illegally to foreign drivers.”

As of Friday, “non-citizens will not be eligible for a non-domiciled CDL,” Duffy said, unless they have a verified employment-based visa and are verified through a mandatory federal immigration status check using the SAVE system.

“What our team has discovered should disturb and anger every American,” Duffy said. “Licenses to operate a massive, 80,000-pound truck are being issued to dangerous foreign drivers – often times illegally. This is a direct threat to the safety of every family on the road, and I won’t stand for it. Today’s actions will prevent unsafe foreign drivers from renewing their license and hold states accountable to immediately invalidate improperly issued licenses.”

The FMCSA audit uncovered systemic non-compliance in several states, identifying California as the worst. Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Washington licensing patterns were also “not consistent with federal regulations,” the audit found.

The nationwide audit is ongoing; not all state policies have been fully reviewed.

Duffy warned all state governments to “find all improperly issued CDLs and revoke their licenses now. We owe it to the American people to ensure only lawful, qualified drivers are operating big rigs on our highways.”

Governors of the two largest states on the list have had different responses. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who leads the second largest state by population, directed Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to crack down on commercial driver English proficiency, The Center Square reported. Abbott is also working in concert with the Trump administration to improve road safety. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office criticized Duffy, saying, “It appears the Secretary of Transportation is having a challenging time understanding the road rules. Unlike him, we’ll stick to the facts: California commercial driver’s license holders have a fatal crash rate nearly 40% LOWER than the national average. And when you look at Texas – the only state with more commercial holders – the lone star state has a rate almost 50% HIGHER than California. Facts don’t lie. But the Trump Admin does.”

The FMCSA audit says California’s systemic licensing failures are attributed to “weak oversight, insufficient training, and programming errors.” The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) improperly issued non-domiciled CDLs to more than 25% of applicants and to ineligible drivers whose licenses were valid for years after their lawful status in the U.S. expired, the audit found.

On Friday, Duffy ordered CalSTA to pause issuing all non-domiciled CDLs, identify all unexpired non-domiciled CDLs that fail to comply with FMCSA regulations and revoke and reissue all noncompliant non-domiciled CDLs if they comply with the new federal requirements.

“California’s reckless disregard is frankly disgusting and an affront to the millions of Americans who expect us to keep them safe,” Duffy said. “California must get its act together immediately or I will not hesitate to pull millions in funding.”

California has 30 days to comply with the order or FMCSA will initially withhold federal highway funds, starting at nearly $160 million in the first year.

CalSTA issued an 8-page response stating it is already in compliance.

The action is the latest one taken by Duffy to improve roadway safety in the last few months after illegal foreign nationals have been arrested in connection to fatalities caused by 18-wheeler accidents. 

In June, Duffy announced a nationwide audit of states issuing non-domiciled CDLs. He also unveiled a pro-trucker package including a range of new initiatives, pilot programs, and regulatory updates designed to improve the lives of American truck drivers. The package includes more than $275 million in grant funding to expand parking access for truck drivers nationwide, removes one-size-fits-all mandates, modernizes driver resources, slashes red tape among other measures.

In May, Duffy issued new guidelines to strengthen English language enforcement for commercial truck operators. Those who don’t comply will lose their license.