In a decisive move on Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that $40 million in federal funds will be withheld from California. This decision stems from what Duffy describes as the state’s failure to enforce English language requirements for truck drivers—a policy mandated by rules that took effect in June under one of President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
This action follows an investigation prompted by a tragic incident in Florida on August 12, where a foreign truck driver, who had been issued a commercial license by California, caused a deadly crash after making an illegal U-turn. Duffy emphasized that California was not upholding the necessary English proficiency standards that should have disqualified the driver involved, especially due to his immigration status. These regulations were in place even before the incident, raising questions about California’s compliance.
The situation has sparked a political clash, with the governors of California and Florida exchanging criticisms, while Duffy has used this opportunity to underscore the administration’s ongoing concerns regarding immigration policies. In his statement, Duffy pointedly remarked, “California is the only state in the nation that refuses to ensure big rig drivers can read our road signs and communicate with law enforcement. This is a fundamental safety issue that impacts you and your family on America’s road.”
Despite the federal government’s stance, California maintains that its practices are sound. A formal response was submitted to the Transportation Department last month, defending their procedures, but it failed to satisfy federal officials.
Reacting swiftly to Duffy’s announcement, California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office countered the claims. Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for the governor, highlighted that California’s commercial truck drivers record a crash rate lower than the national average, implicitly challenging the basis of Duffy’s critique.
The office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom quickly pushed back after the announcement Wednesday. Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for the governor, said statistics show that California commercial truck drivers have a lower crash rate than the national average.
But Duffy said when he announced his concerns in August that California had conducted roughly 34,000 inspections that found at least one violation since the new language standards took effect. But only one inspection involved an English language rules violation that resulted in a driver being taken out of service. And 23 drivers with violations in other states were allowed to continue driving after inspections in California.
The Transportation Department said that to get this funding reinstated, California must adopt regulations to enforce the English rules and ensure that state inspectors are testing truck drivers’ English skills during roadside inspections and pulling anyone that fails out of service.
In addition to this English language issue, Duffy has threatened to pull another $160 million from California because of the way the state issues commercial drivers licenses. Duffy significantly restricted who can qualify for those licenses last month.
Three people died when truck driver Harjinder Singh made an illegal U-turn on a highway about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of West Palm Beach and a minivan slammed into his trailer, according to Florida’s Highway Patrol. Singh and his passenger were not injured.
He is being held without bond after being charged with three state counts of vehicular homicide and immigration violations. His lawyer has previously declined to comment on the case.
The crash received intense scrutiny because of questions about Singh’s immigration status and because investigators said he failed an English proficiency test afterward. Duffy and Florida officials blamed California as well as Washington state for issuing him a commercial driver’s license.
But California officials said he had a valid work permit at the time. And New Mexico released video of a traffic stop that showed Singh communicating with an officer effectively after he was pulled over there in July.
Duffy, President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have all be trading barbs with Newsom over the crash and whether Singh should have been driving a truck.
Newsom’s office said California followed all the rules when it issued a license for Singh in July 2024, while the federal government confirmed at that time that he was in the country legally.
Duffy and Florida authorities have said Singh, who is from India, entered the country illegally from Mexico in 2018.
