From the Washington Examiner: California has revoked 17,000 nondomiciled commercial driver’s licenses issued illegally in the state after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy demanded it do so.
The Transportation Department and the state of California have disagreed over the Golden State’s compliance with federal trucking laws for several months. Duffy continues to reprimand the state for its noncompliance, and California officials have repeatedly argued they are following all regulations.
In a Wednesday announcement, the Transportation Department said the California Department of Motor Vehicles had issued 17,000 nondomiciled CDLs in violation of federal regulations. Duffy has made cracking down on non-English speaking commercial truck drivers a cornerstone priority of his department. His efforts heightened after a fatal semitruck crash in the summer caused by a non-English proficient illegal immigrant, who had one of his licenses issued in California.
A press release by the Transportation Department reads:
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy announced today that the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has admitted to illegally issuing 17,000 non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) to dangerous foreign drivers. Thanks to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) ongoing audit, each of these licenses is being revoked.
“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,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy. “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 semitrucks and school buses.”
Notices have been issued to the 17,000 non-domiciled CDL holders that their license no longer meets federal requirements and will expire in 60 days. FMCSA requires California to provide its full audit of all its non-domiciled CDLs so the agency can verify that every illegally issued license has been revoked and that the failures that allowed these licenses to be issued are corrected.
🚨 @CAGovernor and his state were caught red-handed after weeks of claiming they did nothing wrong.
Now that we’ve exposed their lies, 17,000 illegally issued trucking licenses are being revoked.
This is just the beginning. California must revoke every illegally issued CDL or… https://t.co/wAFy6CnN2A
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 12, 2025
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