California Democrats have spent years protecting illegal aliens from the consequences of their actions.
Now that policy is putting American lives at risk on the roads.
And Sean Duffy dropped the hammer on Gavin Newsom with this ultimatum.
California Tries to Extend Deadline After Admitting Fraud
California's Department of Motor Vehicles announced it was delaying the revocation of 17,000 commercial driver's licenses issued to immigrants until March 2026.
The Golden State claimed it needed more time to work with federal regulators after admitting it illegally issued the licenses to drivers who couldn't speak English or read road signs.
But Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wasn't buying California's excuse.
"Gavin Newsom is lying," Duffy wrote on X.¹ "The deadline to revoke illegally issued, unvetted foreign trucker licenses is still January 5."
Duffy threatened to withhold nearly $160 million in federal highway funding if California missed the Sunday deadline.
The federal government had already identified California as the worst offender in a nationwide audit that uncovered "systemic non-compliance" in issuing commercial driver's licenses.
Federal investigators discovered licenses that remained valid years after an immigrant's work permit expired or where the state couldn't even prove it checked a driver's immigration status.
Newsom fired back at Duffy on X, claiming the Transportation Department had agreed to an extension eight days earlier.
"Sean, facts matter," Newsom's office posted. "YOUR staff told CA DMV they were open to an extension 8 days ago."²
The back-and-forth came after the Asian Law Caucus and Sikh Coalition filed a class-action lawsuit challenging the revocations.
The immigrant rights groups argued the cancellations would cause "mass work stoppages" and claimed many drivers legally qualified for their licenses.
California only sent out cancellation notices after Duffy pressured the state to crack down on licenses issued to illegal aliens.
The dispute isn't just about paperwork and deadlines.
Three people died in Florida last August after an illegal alien truck driver named Harjinder Singh made an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike.
Singh had received commercial driver's licenses from both Washington state and California.
Deadly Pattern Exposes Democrat Failures
Florida investigators discovered Singh failed his CDL knowledge exam 10 times in two months before Washington finally issued him a license.³
He also failed his air brakes test twice.
The Washington company that trained Singh certified he could speak English even though he struggled with basic proficiency.
Bodycam footage from a July traffic stop in New Mexico showed Singh barely communicating with the officer.
Officials investigating the Florida crash said Singh failed English and road sign tests but somehow kept his California CDL.
Singh's work authorization had been denied by President Trump's first administration in September 2020.
The Biden administration later approved it in June 2021, and California then granted Singh a commercial driver's license that put an 80,000-pound truck in the hands of someone who couldn't read American traffic signs.
That's not an isolated incident — at least five fatal crashes since January involved non-domiciled CDL holders, prompting Duffy's emergency action.
In September, the Transportation Department announced new rules making it much harder for noncitizens to obtain commercial licenses.
Under the new standards, only specific visa holders can qualify for non-domiciled CDLs.
States must verify immigration status through a federal database, and licenses can only remain valid for up to one year.
California has 30 days from the September announcement to comply or lose $160 million in federal highway funds in year one.
That figure doubles to $320 million in year two if the state continues defying federal safety requirements.
Duffy already withheld $40 million from California in October for refusing to enforce English language proficiency requirements.
The Transportation Secretary made clear he wouldn't back down from protecting Americans on the roads.
"Licenses to operate a massive, 80,000-pound truck are being issued to dangerous foreign drivers – often times illegally," Duffy said.⁴ "This is a direct threat to the safety of every family on the road, and I won't stand for it."
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit at the Supreme Court asking the justices to permanently bar California and Washington from issuing CDLs to illegal aliens.
The petition argues these states demonstrated "open defiance of federal immigration laws" and created a public safety crisis.
Gavin Newsom and California Democrats put illegal alien truck drivers on American roads who failed basic safety tests and couldn't read English signs.
Now the Trump administration is forcing California to choose between protecting illegal aliens or keeping federal highway funding.
That's not a hard choice for anyone who cares about American lives.
¹ Sean Duffy, X post, December 31, 2025.
² Gavin Newsom press office, X post, December 31, 2025.
³ Fox News, "Illegal alien failed CDL test 10 times in 2 months before fatal Florida crash that killed 3," October 24, 2025.
⁴ U.S. Department of Transportation, "Trump's Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy Takes Emergency Action to Protect America's Roads, Restrict Non-Domiciled CDLs," September 26, 2025.
