Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy accused California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) of lying, declaring the state could lose nearly $160 million in federal funds if it does not comply with a January 5 deadline to revoke foreign trucker licenses.
“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 [Department of Transportation] will act — including cutting nearly $160 million in federal funding,” Duffy wrote on social media.
Duffy’s statement follows the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) extending the cancellation date of thousands of nondomiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDL). The 60-day extension, through March 6, 2026, sought to allow “parties to find a solution that permits drivers to remain working to serve our communities.”
“Commercial drivers are an important part of our economy — our supply chains don’t move, and our communities don’t stay connected without them,” said California DMV Director Steve Gordon. “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 non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses.”
In November, Duffy announced that the California DMV admitted to illegally issuing 17,000 non-domiciled CDLs to foreign drivers. “After weeks of claiming they did nothing wrong, Gavin Newsom and California have been caught red-handed. Now that we’ve exposed their lies, 17,000 illegally issued trucking licenses are being revoked,” Duffy said at the time. “This is just the tip of the iceberg. My team will continue to force California to prove they have removed every illegal immigrant from behind the wheel of semi-trucks and school buses.”
