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The Trump administration plans to withhold $40 million from California over its refusal to impose English language requirements on truckers, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday.
The move comes weeks after an investigation found that illegal immigrant truck driver Harjinder Singh killed three people after making an illegal U-turn on a Florida highway in August. California had issued the driver with a commercial license, but those English rules predated the accident.
Duffy cited California’s failure to enforce English proficiency rules following one of President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
DUFFY RESPONDS WITH “CROCODILE TEARS” COMMENT ON CALIFORNIA TRUCK DRIVER’S CASE BANNED
California Governor Gavin Newsom (left) and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy (right). On Wednesday, Duffy said he would withhold $40 million from California because of its failure to enforce English language rules for commercial truck drivers. (Ayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images (left); Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images (right))
“California is the only state in the country that refuses to ensure that drivers of large trucks 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’s 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 involved in the Florida crash should not have obtained a commercial license because of his immigration status.
Diana Crofts-Pelayo, spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom, told Fox News Digital that California commercial truck drivers have a lower accident rate than the national average.
The composite image shows firefighters responding to a fatal crash in Florida linked to Harjinder Singh’s truck and Singh’s body camera cited for speeding in New Mexico on July 3, 2025. (St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office; New Mexico State Police body camera)
“It seems the Secretary of Transportation needs a lesson in the laws of his own roads,” Crofts-Pelayo said. “The reality is simple: Commercial driver’s license holders in California had a fatal crash rate nearly 40% LOWER than the national average. Texas, the only state with more commercial driver’s license holders, has a rate almost 50% higher than California.”
“Facts don’t lie, even if for the Trump administration they seem optional,” she added.
GOP REP. TARGETS TRUCK DRIVER’S ENGLISH SKILLS AFTER ILLEGAL MIGRANT CHARGED IN DEADLY FLORIDA ACCIDENT
Harjinder Singh, a 28-year-old illegal alien from India, was arrested on August 16, 2025. Singh allegedly attempted an unauthorized U-turn at Ft. Pierce, Florida, on Tuesday, resulting in a crash that killed three people. (United States Marshals Service)
Singh, an Indian citizen, is being held without bail after being charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and immigration violations.
Investigators said he failed an English proficiency test but still got a truck driving license. Duffy and Florida officials 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.
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For funding to be restored, California must enforce English rules and ensure that state inspectors test truck drivers’ English skills during roadside inspections and remove anyone who fails to do so from the road.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
