California officials denied failing to meet the new standards and said they require English language proficiency for commercial drivers.
The Trump administration is withholding $40.6 million in transportation funding from California after an investigation found the state failed to comply with the federal English language proficiency requirement for truck drivers, officials announced on Oct. 15.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will keep $40.7 million in federal grant funding for California from the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP). The funding is awarded to states to conduct roadside inspections, traffic enforcement, safety audits of trucking companies, and public education campaigns.
“The Golden State thinks it’s OK to ignore [the U.S. Department of Transportation’s] English language requirements for truckers,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted on X. “You can play all the games you want, but not at the expense of American lives.”
🚨💸I’m withholding 40 MILLION DOLLARS in funding for California because they can’t get their priorities straight.
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) October 15, 2025
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… pic.twitter.com/0fl8gfURXB
Duffy announced this summer that he would enforce the Trump administration’s new English language requirements for truck drivers, threatening to withhold the grant funds for states that did not meet the standards.
California, Washington, and New Mexico were given until Sept. 26 to comply with new federal rules requiring truck drivers to be proficient in the English language. States that failed to comply were told they risked losing up to 100 percent of their MCSAP grants.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s spokeswoman Diana Crofts-Pelayo denied the federal government’s accusations.
“Sounds like the federal Secretary of Transportation needs a lesson on his own road rules,” Crofts-Pelayo told The Epoch Times in an email, saying California’s licensed commercial drivers had a fatal crash rate nearly 40 percent lower than the national average.
California’s transportation agency wrote a detailed letter to the U.S. Transportation Department Sept. 25, stating they were complying with federal laws and regulations, including the English language proficiency requirement.
“California law … includes an independent requirement of English language proficiency for commercial drivers,” the letter stated. “Moreover, under California regulations, the entire commercial vehicle road test must be conducted in English.”
