Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy SLAPS New York with $73 MILLION Federal Funding Cut for REFUSING to Revoke Illegally Issued Commercial Driver’s Licenses to Illegals

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Thursday that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is withholding a staggering $73,502,543 in federal highway funds from the state of New York.

Because far-left New York Democrats under Governor Kathy Hochul have flat-out refused to revoke thousands of illegally issued nondomiciled commercial learner’s permits (CLPs) and commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) handed out in violation of federal law.

Back in December 2025, The Gateway Pundit reported on the FMCSA audit that flagged New York as one of the worst offenders in the nation for rubber-stamping CDLs to non-domiciled drivers, many of them illegal aliens or migrants whose temporary work authorizations had lapsed.

“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. Gov. Hochul must immediately revoke these illegally issued licenses. If they refuse to follow the law, we will withhold federal highway funding,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy at the time. “This administration will never stop fighting to keep you and your family safe on our roads.”

On Thursday, the Trump administration stripped the state of New York of more than $73 million in federal highway funding after it failed to revoke thousands of improperly issued commercial learner’s permits and CDLs.

According to DOT:

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy today announced that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is withholding over $73 million from the State of New York for failing to revoke illegally issued non-domiciled commercial learner’s permits (CLPs) and commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs).

“I promised the American people I would hold any state leader accountable for failing to keep them safe from unvetted, unqualified foreign drivers. I’m delivering on that promise today by refusing to fund Governor Hochul’s dangerous, anti-American policies. My message to New York’s far left leadership is clear: families must be prioritized on American roads,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy.

“FMCSA’s mission is safety. That means ensuring that every commercial driver on the road is properly vetted and qualified. New York’s continued refusal to fix these failures undermines that mission, and we will not allow federal dollars to support a system that falls short of the law,” said FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs.

Reminder:

FMCSA’s audit of New York’s non-domiciled CDL issuance practices found numerous failures by the state of New York including:

• Out of 200 sampled records, 107 were issued in violation of federal law—a failure rate of over 53%.
• The DMV’s systems defaulted to issuing 8-year licenses to foreign drivers for non-REAL ID licenses, regardless of when their legal status expired.

Additional Information:

On December 12, FMCSA found that, following a nationwide audit of CDLs, the New York Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) had been routinely issuing CDLs to foreign drivers illegally. The federal audit exposed a 53% failure rate in the records sampled, indicating a total collapse in the administration of New York’s non-domiciled CDL program.

On March 13, FMCSA issued a formal response refuting the state’s claims of compliance and reiterating that New York had failed to complete required corrective actions, including the immediate rescission of all noncompliant non-domicile CLPs and CDLs.

After the state’s continuous refusal to remove these dangerous drivers from the road, FMCSA has issued a final determination of substantial noncompliance and moved to withhold $73,502,543.This represents 4% of New York’s National Highway Performance Program and Surface Transportation Program Block Grant funds.

Meanwhile, California has already lost nearly $200 million for the same nonsense. Now, New York is joining the club.

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