Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Pulls Nearly $160M In Federal Funds From California Over CDL Dispute: 'It's Reckoning Day For Gavin Newsom'
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has announced the Department of Transportation will withdraw nearly $160 million in Federal funding from California amid illegal commercial driver's license (CDL) row.
Gavin Newsom's ‘Reckoning Day'
In a post on the social media platform X on Wednesday, Duffy announced the decision to pull funds from the state after California failed to meet the January 5 deadline to revoke CDLs issued to undocumented drivers. "It's RECKONING DAY for Gavin Newsom," Duffy said, adding that the demands put forward by the DOT were "simple."
"Gavin refused. So now I am pulling nearly $160 MILLION from California," Duffy said in the post, adding that under President Donald Trump’s administration, federal dollars would not "fund this CHARADE."
FMCSA Withdraws Funds
In an official statement released by the DOT on Wednesday, the agency announced that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) would withdraw funds worth over $160 million from California "via the National Highway Performance Program and Surface Transportation Block Grant."
This program focuses on providing funding to states for improving the national highway system, as well as bridge and tunnel projects on any public road, pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, and transit capital projects. The statement also said that California had agreed to revoke 17,000 CDLs in November.
Sean Duffy Vs Gavin Newsom
Duffy had earlier threatened to withdraw the $160 million in funding from California on multiple occasions, much to Newsom's criticism. The California Governor had earlier called Duffy's allegations made towards his administration a "sad and pathetic attempt" to spread false information.
Duffy has also faced off against other Democratic lawmakers, threatening funding cuts, including Governor Tim Walz (D-Minn.). The Transport Secretary said the DOT will withdraw over $30 million in federal funding from the state for illegally issuing CDLs to undocumented drivers.
The row came to light following an undocumented foreign commercial driver, Harjinder Singh, making an illegal U-turn on a highway in Florida— Singh's actions, which resulted in three fatalities, drew widespread criticism from GOP lawmakers and supporters. Singh was issued his CDL in California.
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