{"id":24507,"date":"2025-10-26T20:13:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T20:13:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/24507\/"},"modified":"2025-10-26T20:13:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T20:13:18","slug":"sean-duffy-to-withhold-millions-from-california-over-commercial-licenses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/24507\/","title":{"rendered":"Sean Duffy to Withhold Millions from California Over Commercial Licenses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy said on Fox News\u2019 Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo that he is \u201cabout to pull $160 million from California<\/a>\u201d and potentially the state\u2019s ability to issue Commercial Driver\u2019s License (CDL), a month after the DOT issued an emergency action on the matter. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Newsweek has reached out to the California governor\u2019s office for comment via email on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Why It Matters<\/p>\n

Duffy\u2019s comments come after some high-profile fatal crashes have sparked public debate over requirements for CDLs. A Florida crash by 28-year-old Harjinder Singh, a truck driver from Stockton, California, killed three people. Singh, a native of India, was later arrested in California and extradited to Florida on vehicular homicide charges, with federal authorities claiming he was in the country illegally when California issued his CDL. However, California officials say Singh obtained proper<\/a> work permits in 2018 during President\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>‘s previous administration.<\/p>\n

Duffy has threatened to revoke $160 million in federal funding from California over alleged licensing violations. In late September, the DOT announced \u201cemergency rules\u201d that required all state DMVs to pause issuing licenses to non-citizens until they can comply with the “new federal standard.” As of Sunday, the California DMV<\/a> still has the update active on their website.<\/p>\n

The Trump official’s comments come as California Governor Gavin Newsom<\/a>, a Democrat, has repeatedly clashed with the White House, particularly over immigration raids and the federal deployment of thousands of National Guard troops. The governor, who is term limited, said on Sunday he would be \u201clying\u201d if he didn\u2019t say he is considering a White House run after the 2026 midterm elections.<\/p>\n

\"\"What To Know<\/p>\n

Duffy called the ability of illegal immigrants to obtain drivers licenses in certain states, including California, \u201cunbelievable.\u201d He said the purpose of the non-domicile CDLs are for people from different states to work across lines, \u201cbut you\u2019re an American citizen,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, 21-year-old Jashanpreet Singh was charged in connection with a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 10 in California that left three people dead and several others injured. Jashanpreet, an Indian national who entered the United States illegally in 2022, has been charged with driving under the influence of drugs, causing bodily injury, and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, according to San Bernardino County records.<\/p>\n

Loading twitter content…<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have unlawfully issued 60,000 of these licenses, to people who have come into the country, and they have done it illegally,\u201d Duffy said about California. He then called out Newsom for allegedly refusing \u201cto comply with the rules that come from DOT, which is stop issuing these licenses, number one, and number two go back and review all the licenses that you have issued and make sure it\u2019s been done legally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Due to this, the Transportation Secretary said he is \u201cabout to pull $160 million from California, and as we pull more money, we also have the option of pulling California’s ability to issue commercial driver’s licenses.”<\/p>\n

Duffy said on September 26 if California doesn\u2019t comply in 30 days, then Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
(FMCSA) will withhold federal highway funds totaling around $160 million.<\/p>\n

The secretary\u2019s comments come after a nationwide audit by the FMCSA was launched following several fatal crashes caused by non-domiciled drivers. The audit found \u201csystemic non-compliance across several states, the worst and most egregious in California.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the DOT\u2019s emergency pause on non-domiciled CDLs, Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation that would require all commercial truck drivers in the U.S. to pass a standardized English proficiency test before receiving their CDL. <\/p>\n

Duffy said last week that he has “already withheld $40 MILLION from California for not enforcing our English language requirements.”<\/p>\n

What People Are Saying<\/p>\n

California DMV spokesperson Jonathan Groveman on October 20 regarding Harjinder\u00a0Singh:\u00a0\u201cThe DMV confirmed Mr. Singh\u2019s documents using the federal SAVE system. Furthermore, Mr. Singh\u2019s commercial driver\u2019s license is a federal REAL ID, which he was entitled to receive given the federal government’s confirmation of his legal status.\u201d<\/p>\n

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a news release on Thursday: \u201cIt is a terrible tragedy three innocent people lost their lives due to the reckless open border policies that allowed an illegal alien to be released into the U.S. and drive an 18-wheeler on America\u2019s highways. This accident follows a disturbing trend of illegal aliens driving 18 wheelers and semi-trucks<\/a> on America\u2019s roads. \u00a0Earlier this week, DHS highlighted another fatal accident in Indiana caused by an illegal alien driving a semi-truck. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE is working day-in and day-out to make America\u2019s roads safe again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said on October 16:\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s a shame, and that\u2019s why we\u2019re taking Gavin Newsom to the Supreme Court\u2014to hold them accountable for the carnage that their sanctuary illegal immigration policies have caused to states like Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n

California Governor Gavin Newsom\u2019s Press Office said in an X post on Sunday regarding the ground stop at Los Angeles International airport over staffing shortages: \u201cHell of a job, @SecDuffy. Can\u2019t wait to see what you do with NASA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Representative Troy Nehls, a Texas Republican, told\u00a0Newsweek on October 24 for another story about the SAFE Drivers Act: “If you aren\u2019t proficient in English and can\u2019t read road signs that are written in English, you shouldn\u2019t be allowed to drive an 18-wheeler.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Happens Next?<\/p>\n

Florida’s attorney general has filed a complaint against California and Washington state accusing them of not complying with federal safety and immigration requirements for CDLs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy said on Fox News\u2019 Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24508,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,18940,8151,1059,457,7121,16036],"class_list":["post-24507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-citizenship","tag-department-of-transportation","tag-dmv","tag-gavin-newsom","tag-sean-duffy","tag-trucks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24507\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}