Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday he will withhold $40 million from California because it is the only state that is failing to enforce English language requirements for truckers.
An investigation launched after a deadly Florida crash involving a foreign truck driver who made an illegal U-turn on Aug. 12 found what Duffy called significant failures in the way California is enforcing rules that took effect in June after one of President Donald Trump’s executive orders. California had issued the driver a commercial license, but these English rules predate the crash.
Truckers are supposed to be disqualified if they can’t demonstrate English proficiency, and Duffy said the driver involved in the crash should not have been given a commercial license because of his immigration status. The crash has become increasingly political, with the governors of California and Florida criticizing each other and Duffy highlighting the administration’s immigration concerns in interviews.
“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,” Duffy said.
California defended its practices in a formal response to the Transportation Department last month, but federal officials weren’t satisfied.
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. --->READ MORE HERE
The move follows a fatal crash involving illegal immigrant driver who failed English test but received commercial license
The Trump administration plans to withhold $40 million from California over its refusal to enforce English language requirements for truckers, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday.
The move came weeks after an investigation found that an illegal immigrant truck driver, Harjinder Singh, killed three people after making an illegal U-turn on a Florida road in August. California had issued the driver a commercial license, but these English rules predate the crash.
Duffy cited failures by California to enforce English proficiency rules following one of President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
"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 roads," Duffy said.
"The Golden State thinks it’s OK to ignore @USDOT English language requirements for truckers. You can play all the games you want, but not at the expense of American lives," Duffy wrote on X.
Duffy said the truck driver in the Florida crash should not have been given a commercial license because of his immigration status.
Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, told Fox News Digital that California commercial truck drivers have a lower crash rate than the national average. --->READ MORE HERE
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