U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy has revealed that the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issued 17,000 non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) illegally to foreign drivers. This announcement follows an audit by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which led to the revocation of these licenses.
Duffy said, "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." He emphasized that his team will ensure California removes every illegal immigrant from operating semitrucks and school buses.
The FMCSA has instructed California to provide a complete audit of its non-domiciled CDLs for verification purposes. The agency's nationwide audit uncovered systemic errors in California's CDL program, with over one-fourth of sampled records not complying with federal regulations.
In response to these findings, notices have been sent to the affected CDL holders indicating their licenses will expire in 60 days as they no longer meet federal requirements.
Additionally, the Department of Transportation announced withholding over $40 million from California due to non-compliance with English Language Proficiency standards for commercial vehicle drivers. This follows previous warnings and new guidelines introduced by Secretary Duffy in May to enforce language proficiency among commercial truck operators.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is also actively involved in other initiatives such as awarding nearly $20 million in grants through its Small Shipyard Grant Program aimed at modernizing shipyards across 19 states (https://www.maritime.dot.gov/newsroom/maritime-administration-awards-nearly-20-million-funding-strengthen-us-shipyard-economic). Furthermore, it recently announced winners for its Inclusive Design Challenge, a competition focused on enhancing mobility options for people with disabilities (https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/anniversary-ada-usdot-announces-winners-its-first-ever-inclusive-design-challenge).
Information from this article can be found here.
