California Governor Gavin Newsom has finally submitted, after months of refusing to comply with the Department of Transportation, and will now require truck drivers to be tested for English language proficiency. The move came after the federal government withheld more than $40 million in funding from the Golden State since last October, and threatened to pull another $160 million in February.
"I'm about to pull $160M from California” - Sec Duffy
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) October 26, 2025
Do it! Why wait?
pic.twitter.com/9y4euDZXwk
🚨It’s RECKONING DAY for Gavin Newsom 🚨
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) January 7, 2026
Our demands to California were simple:
➡️ Follow the rules
➡️ Revoke the unlawfully-issued licenses to dangerous foreign drivers
➡️ Fix the system so this never happens again
Gavin refused. So now I am pulling nearly $160 MILLION from… pic.twitter.com/j2ckDLlRdI
“I shouldn’t have had to threaten to withhold millions in funding for California to come to their senses and enforce the law,” Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said. “For those who said we’re playing politics—our efforts have gotten real results for the American people.”
Last year, Duffy revealed that California was the only state failing to enforce regulations requiring truckers to demonstrate English proficiency and comprehension of traffic signs.
🚨 NOW - SEC. SEAN DUFFY RIPS GAVIN NEWSOM: "What the HELL is going on in California?!"
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 12, 2025
"How can you get a license when you're not proficient in English in California?!" 💯💯
"When we've held money over [Gavin Newsom], they say they're working to comply...but he's stomped his… pic.twitter.com/M8StUDpKEF
This comes after a series of deadly crashes involving foreign drivers who held Commercial Driver’s Licenses issued by various states.
In August 2025, Harjinder Singh, an Indian national in the U.S. illegally holding CDLs from both California and Washington, caused a fatal three-death wreck as he made an illegal U-turn on Florida's Turnpike. In October 2025, a non-domiciled CDL holder failed to stop on a California highway, sparking an eight-vehicle pileup that killed three. And most recently, in February 2026, a Kyrgyz national driving a semitruck crossed into oncoming traffic in Indiana, killing four.
Despite the clear safety risks, Newsom refused to cooperate with the federal government, seemingly using the issue as another opportunity to oppose President Trump in his 2028 presidential bid. Unfortunately for Newsom, California was still reliant on federal funding to maintain its programs.
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