Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has pulled over $73 million in Federal Funding for Governor Kathy Hochul-led (D-NY) New York state amid the illegal commercial driver’s license row.
Pulling Federal Funding
Duffy took to the social media platform X on Thursday, sharing clips of an interview with Fox News where he criticized Hochul, sharing that the administration claimed to have followed the rule, but “the truth is that they actually gave commercial driver’s licenses to people who were in the country illegally,” Duffy said.
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The Transportation Secretary also shared that New York “completely rejected” the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) offer to cooperate in the matter. Duffy then shared that the DOT was “pulling $73 million from Hochul’s New York,” adding that “American families deserve to be SAFE on the road.” He also said there could be more cuts in the future.
Kathy Hochul claimed New York followed the rules when issuing licenses to foreign truck drivers…
WRONG ❌⁰⁰Here’s the truth: New York gave licenses to foreigners valid years beyond their work authorizations!
That’s why today @USDOT is pulling $73 million from Hochul’s New… pic.twitter.com/2LU43Zc7eh
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) April 16, 2026
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California Revoked 17,000 Licenses
When asked whether pulling the federal funding worked, Duffy said it did. “Just ask Gavin Newsom,” he said in a separate post, also sharing that California had revoked over “17,000 licenses” issued to undocumented people. He also shared that the DOT had pulled over $160 million in federal funding from the state.
Does pulling federal highway money from states that don’t follow the rules of the road work?
The short answer: YES. Just ask Gavin Newsom.
New York is losing $73 MILLION for illegally issuing commercial driver’s licenses. Now it’s time for Kathy Hochul to do her part and… pic.twitter.com/LZPleP9qH7
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) April 16, 2026
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Sean Duffy vs Gavin Newsom
Newsom had earlier criticized Duffy, calling his allegations against the state and his administration a “sad and pathetic attempt” to spread false information.
Duffy has also faced off against other Democratic lawmakers over the CDL row, threatening funding cuts to Governor Tim Walz (D-Minn.) and Minnesota. The Transport Secretary said that the DOT will withdraw over $30 million in federal funding from the state for illegally issuing CDLs to undocumented drivers.
The issue came to light last year when an undocumented individual, Harjinder Singh, took an illegal U-turn on a Florida highway that resulted in the deaths of three people. Singh was reportedly issued his CDL in California.
Sean Duffy | Photo courtesy: Joshua Sukoff / Shutterstock.com
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