On Friday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened to revoke $73 million in federal funding for state highways from New York, after an audit revealed that more than half of the commercial driver's licenses issued by the state were given to illegal immigrants.
“When more than half of the licenses reviewed were issued illegally, it isn’t just a mistake—it is a dereliction of duty by state leadership,” Duffy said. “Gov. Hochul must immediately revoke these illegally issued licenses. If they refuse to follow the law, we will withhold federal highway funding.”
Governor Hochul has 30 days to respond.
.@SecDuffy announces that 53% of New York’s non-domiciled CDLs were issued unlawfully:
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) December 12, 2025
"I am going to give New York 30 days... to come into compliance... If New York refuses to come into compliance...we are going to pull tens of millions of dollars." pic.twitter.com/OTclZFf3JE
We’re holding New York accountable for issuing non-domicile commercial driver’s licenses to truckers illegally. FULL STOP.
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) December 12, 2025
We’re giving New York 30 days to comply or we’ll withhold $73 MILLION!
The safety of the American people comes first🇺🇸 https://t.co/StzlI8XCP7
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) audit sampled 200 CDL records,107 of which were unlawfully issued, according to a press release. The New York DMV also appears to have “defaulted to issuing 8-year licenses to foreign drivers for non-REAL ID licenses, regardless of when their legal status expired.” DMV officials also allegedley “relied upon expired lawful presence documents to issue commercial licenses.”
.@GovKathyHochul is jeopardizing driver safety EVERYWHERE by granting illegal immigrants commercial driver licenses.
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) December 12, 2025
More than HALF of New York’s non-domiciled CDLs were issued ILLEGALLY. What’s worse, New York often fails to verify drivers’ legal status.@USDOT is taking… pic.twitter.com/EfXFbKMDQm
“Secretary Duffy is lying about New York State once again in a desperate attempt to distract from the failing, chaotic administration he represents,” NYS DMV spokesperson Walter McClure said.
Here is the truth: Commercial Drivers Licenses are regulated by the Federal Government, and New York State DMV has, and will continue to, comply with federal rules. Every CDL we issue is subject to verification of an applicant’s lawful status through federally-issued documents reviewed in accordance with federal regulations. This is just another stunt from Secretary Duffy, and it does nothing to keep our roads safer. We will review USDOT’s letter and respond accordingly.
“The 2025 CDL audit uncovered that New York DMV’s license issuing practices are a grossly unacceptable deviation from federal regulations that have compromised the integrity of the state’s CDL program,” FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs added. “New York must act immediately to comprehensively audit its CDL program and revoke every single illegally issued licenses.”