SACRAMENTO—On January 7, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) sent a Notice of Final Determination of Substantial Noncompliance to the Director of California Department of Motor Vehicles Director, Mr. Steve Gordon and California Governor Gavin Newsom notifying them that the state of California has been fined $160 Million For Non-Compliance. USDOT sent the notice via electronic mail and by UPS.
The following information came directly from a January 7, press release issued by USDOT Secretary Sean P. Duffy announcing that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is withholding approximately $160 million from the state of California after failing to revoke more than 17,000 illegally issued Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) by the January 5, 2026, deadline.
A copy of the Final Determination may be found here.
USDOT Secretary Duffy issued the following statement.
“It’s reckoning day for Gavin Newsom and California. Our demands were simple: follow the rules, revoke the unlawfully issued licenses to dangerous foreign drivers, and fix the system so this never happens again. Gavin Newsom has failed to do so – putting the needs of illegal immigrants over the safety of the American people. While Gavin may not care about protecting you and your family on our roads, the Trump Administration does. We’re pulling this funding to ensure federal tax dollars don’t fund this charade.”
California authorities were forewarned of the violations after Secretary Duffy’s Nationwide Non-Domiciled CDL Audit in September 2025.
FMCSA uncovered what they referred to as a “Systemic collapse of California’s non-domiciled CDL program.”
The state of California reportedly illegally issued over 20,000 driver’s licenses with expiration dates extending well beyond the time said individuals were permitted to be on U.S. soil which violated federal safety regulations.
FMSCSA Administrator, Derek D. Barrs explains further.
“Federal regulations are clear: states must correct safety deficiencies on a schedule mutually agreed upon by the agency, and California failed to meet its commitment to rescind these unlawfully issued licenses by January 5.
We will not accept a corrective plan that knowingly leaves thousands of drivers holding noncompliant licenses behind the wheel of 80,000-pound trucks in open defiance of federal safety regulations.”
The audit that took place in September revealed that at 25 percent of the non-domiciled CDL licenses issued by the state of California extended, “as many as four years beyond the expiration date of their lawful presence,” in the United States.
One case cited in the press release pertains to the State of California issuing a CDL with endorsements to drive a bus or school bus to a Brazilian National. His visa expired before his CDL. To be clear, an illegal alien was basically given permission to transport California’s school children on a school bus with an expired visa.
In November, California authorities reportedly agreed to revoke the unauthorized licenses within 60 days and failed to do so. In response, FMSA will withhold nearly $160 will withhold nearly $160 million in funding through the National Highway Performance Program and the Surface Transportation Block grant.
