OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
8:15 AM – Wednesday, November 12, 2025
United States Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy has revoked thousands of commercial licenses (CDLs) issued to foreign nationals in California.
The Transportation Department announced on Wednesday that the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) admitted to illegally issuing 17,000 non-domiciled CDLs to “foreign drivers.” The statement declared that Governor Gavin Newsom of California was “caught red-handed.”
The announcement was made based on findings from an ongoing audit by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
“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.”
The audit revealed “systemic policy, procedural, and programming errors,” noting that more than 25% of CDL records sampled in the state failed to comply with federal law, including scenarios where licenses extended beyond the driver’s work authorization period. In some cases, individuals’ legal residence in the U.S. had ended, and in others, individuals had no legal status in the first place.
The transportation secretary’s mission is to hold the highest populated state accountable while ensuring integrity and safety in transportation across the country.
“This isn’t about politics,” Duffy said. “It’s about safety — and about the rule of law.”
Duffy has threatened to pull $160 million in federal funding from the state if it does not comply with the DOT and revoke the illegally issued CDLs that allow undocumented immigrants to operate heavy vehicles such as semitrucks and school buses.
The Department also said in August that it would withhold funds from California if it failed to enforce English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards. In July, California Highway Patrol said “it had no intention of following this important federal regulation.”
Duffy signed an order in May announcing new guidelines to boost English language enforcement for commercial truck operators. Commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers who do not comply with FMCSA ELP requirements are to be considered out-of-service.
In late October, the Golden State’s DMV said that the Transportation Department offered licenses “for asylum seekers and refugees.”
California is now required to submit a full audit of its non-domiciled CDL program to allow the federal government to ensure that every illegal license is canceled and that there are no continual policy failures.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
What do YOU think? Click here to jump to the comments!
Sponsored Content Below