Sean Duffy Names The State That Won’t Comply With Trucking Requirements And The Millions They’ll Lose In Govt Funding

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday on Fox Business’ “The Bottom Line” that California ignores the Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) English language requirements for truckers and will lose $40 million in federal funds.

Following a major accident involving an illegal immigrant truck driver who killed three people, the Trump administration has cracked down on the requirements for truck drivers. As for withholding federal funds from California, Duffy said the decision was made after the Democrat-led state was the only one to ignore the rule that was already in place.

“This is really simple. It’s a longstanding rule that hadn’t been enforced by prior administrations. But to drive an 18-wheeler, a semi, a school bus, you have to speak English, and you have to understand English. You should be tested for this when you take your CDL [Commercial Driver’s License] exam. A lot of states weren’t doing it. We sent out notices to all the states that they have to start to comply,” Duffy said.

“All the states have complied, but one, that would be California. [Democrat Gov.] Gavin Newsom cares more about illegal migrants than he does about the safety of his citizens or the citizens around the country. We use what tools that we can. We have $40 million of funding that goes to the state of California,” Duffy added.

Indian national Harjinder Singh, who was unlawfully living in the U.S., was charged in August with three counts of vehicular homicide after three people died when he made an illegal U-turn on Florida’s Turnpike near Port St. Lucie. (RELATED: ICE Nabs Illegal Migrant Truck Driver With ‘No Name’ Listed On Driver’s License)

Video footage posted online shows Singh and another individual in his truck attempting the illegal U-turn before a black car was seen plowing into Singh’s truck. The truck appeared to be blocking all the lanes. Singh failed an English Language Proficiency assessment and provided only two correct responses out of 12 verbal questions and correctly identified just one of four highway traffic signs, according to a DOT press release.

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According to an investigation conducted by the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, in coordination with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Singh illegally entered the U.S. in 2018 through the U.S.-Mexico border, later obtaining his CDL in California.

Duffy added that withholding the funds could impact California Highway Patrol officers.

“I support the highway patrol, [President] Donald Trump supports the highway patrol, but Gavin Newsom supports illegals over his own highway patrol to keep the roads safe,” Duffy said. “Because they haven’t complied, we’ll use the tools that we have to make sure we make California pay attention to basic safety regulations, which is English language, behind the truck, behind the big wheels, these big rigs.”

“There have been so many car semi-crashes across the country that relate back to drivers who can’t speak the language, or they don’t understand road signs minimally, incredibly dangerous for anyone who drives on our roadways,” Duffy said.

In a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation, a spokesperson for Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said Duffy “needs a lesson on his own road rules.”

“The facts are plain and simple — California commercial driver’s license holders had a fatal crash rate nearly 40% LOWER than the national average. Texas — the only state with more commercial holders — has a rate almost 50% higher than California. Facts don’t lie, but the Trump administration sure does,” a spokesperson told the DCNF.

On Aug. 21, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced worker visas for commercial truck drivers would be paused effective immediately. In a post to X at the time, Rubio said the pause comes after an “increasing number of foreign drivers” operating large vehicles have endangered Americans.

According to Reuters, 2023 data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration says 16% of truck drivers have been born outside of the U.S.

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