Trump administration withholds $40M from California over trucker English proficiency rules

The Trump administration plans to withhold $40 million from California over its refusal to enforce English language requirements for truckers, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday.

The move came weeks after an investigation found that an illegal immigrant truck driver, Harjinder Singh, killed three people after making an illegal U-turn on a Florida road in August. California had issued the driver a commercial license, but these English rules predate the crash.

Duffy cited failures by California to enforce English proficiency rules following one of President Donald Trump’s executive orders.

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“California is the only state in the nation that refuses to ensure big rig drivers can read our road signs and communicate with law enforcement. This is a fundamental safety issue that impacts you and your family on America’s roads,” Duffy said.

“The Golden State thinks it’s OK to ignore @USDOT English language requirements for truckers. You can play all the games you want, but not at the expense of American lives,” Duffy wrote on X.

Duffy said the truck driver in the Florida crash should not have been given a commercial license because of his immigration status.

Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, told Fox News Digital that California commercial truck drivers have a lower crash rate than the national average.

“It seems the Secretary of Transportation needs a lesson about the laws of his own roads,” Crofts-Pelayo said. “The reality is simple: Commercial driver’s license holders in California had a fatal accident rate nearly 40% LOWER than the national average. Texas, the only state with more commercial driver’s license holders, has a rate nearly 50% higher than California’s.” 

“The facts don’t lie, although for the Trump Administration, they seem optional,” she added. 

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Singh, an Indian citizen, is being held without bond after being charged with three state counts of vehicular homicide and immigration violations.

Investigators said he failed an English proficiency test but was still issued a license to drive trucks. Duffy and Florida officials have blamed California as well as Washington state for issuing him a commercial driver’s license.

However, California officials said Singh had a valid work permit at the time. Authorities said he entered the United States illegally from Mexico in 2018.

To have the funding reinstated, California must enforce the English rules and ensure that state inspectors test truck drivers’ English skills during roadside inspections and remove anyone from the road who fails.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.