Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is pushing back hard against California Governor Gavin Newsom, and he's bringing a hefty threat to the table: over $160 million in federal funding.
The dispute centers on commercial driver's licenses that California issued to undocumented drivers. After a news report suggested the state's Department of Motor Vehicles was extending the deadline for CDL cancellations following a lawsuit, Duffy took to social media platform X on Tuesday to call out what he sees as misinformation.
"Gavin Newsom is lying. The deadline to revoke illegally issued, unvetted foreign trucker licenses is still January 5," Duffy wrote. He emphasized that California hasn't been granted any extension to "keep breaking the law" and endanger Americans. And if the state misses that deadline? Duffy says he'll move forward with pulling that federal funding.
The Fox26 News article Duffy referenced claimed that licenses originally set to terminate on January 5, 2026, would now remain valid until March 6, 2026, following a class action lawsuit. According to the report, roughly 17,000 truck drivers in California are facing CDL cancellations.
This isn't Duffy's first rodeo threatening to pull California's funding over this issue. He'd previously warned about withdrawing the same $160 million, drawing sharp criticism from Newsom. His latest comments only deepen what's becoming a significant rift between the two.
How This All Started
The controversy exploded into public view after an undocumented driver named Harjinder Singh made an illegal U-turn on a Florida highway, resulting in three deaths. Singh had received his CDL in California, putting the state's licensing practices under intense scrutiny.
Duffy hasn't limited his criticism to California, either. Earlier this month, he went after Minnesota Governor Tim Walz over the same issue, threatening to withdraw over $30 million in federal funding from Minnesota for issuing CDLs to undocumented drivers.
Another Battle: The High-Speed Rail Fight
Meanwhile, Duffy and Newsom are also clashing over infrastructure. Duffy recently celebrated a California court decision that dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's withdrawal of $4 billion in funding for a high-speed rail project meant to connect Los Angeles to San Francisco.
Newsom, for his part, insisted the project is moving forward despite losing federal support. He pointed out that construction has reached the track-laying phase and that the project consistently passes financial audits.
Between CDL disputes and rail projects, the Duffy-Newsom feud shows no signs of cooling off anytime soon.