The Trump administration is threatening to hit Pennsylvania where it hurts, warning the state it could lose tens of millions in federal dollars after a suspected terrorist managed to snag a commercial truck license.
Federal officials say Pennsylvania broke safety rules by handing out non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses to foreign nationals who shouldn’t have qualified. In a letter to state leaders, the Department of Transportation said Pennsylvania issued CDLs to migrants without verifying their legal status. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the agency will withhold $75 million in federal funding unless Harrisburg cleans up its CDL program quickly.
The fight erupted after the arrest of Akhror Bozorov, an illegal migrant from Uzbekistan accused back home of ties to terrorism. Bozorov, who authorities say spread jihadist propaganda online and recruited for extremist groups, picked up a Pennsylvania-issued CDL before immigration agents arrested him this month.
“Under President Trump, this Department is taking every measure to ensure dangerous foreign drivers aren’t illegally operating 40-ton vehicles on American roads,” Duffy said Thursday.
“Joe Biden allowed tens of millions of illegals to pour into our country through open borders, including a suspected terrorist who Pennsylvania then allowed to get behind the wheel of a semitruck,” he said. “I will continue to fight to get these dangerous drivers off our roads to protect American families and support our national security.”
Sean Duffy is sworn in as transportation secretary by Vice President J.D. Vance
A review by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found “numerous failures” inside Pennsylvania’s licensing system. According to the letter, those shortcomings included extending CDL expiration dates beyond a migrant’s lawful stay and failing to require proof of legal presence before issuing a license.
DOT officials are ordering Pennsylvania to halt all new or upgraded CDL issuances, audit past licenses, and strip unqualified drivers off the road to avoid losing federal cash.
“Following the release of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association’s (FMCSA) Interim Final Rule on September 29, 2025, PennDOT immediately paused issuing all non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs),” PennDOT spokesperson Alexis Campbell told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “PennDOT fully cooperated with FMCSA’s regularly-scheduled audit – and out of 150 cases the federal government audited, FMSCA did not identify a single commercial driver’s license issued to someone who was not eligible.”
Campbell said all applicants must show “proof of identity and must have their legal presence in this country verified through the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database.”
“The Department is reviewing FMCSA’s letter and will respond within the required timeline,” she said.
The flare-up marks the latest effort by the Trump administration to crack down on foreign commercial drivers after several deadly crashes involving illegal migrants behind the wheel.
Under emergency DOT rules rolled out earlier this year, non-citizens seeking a non-domiciled CDL must pass federal immigration checks and hold a valid employment-based visa. The tougher standards, which don’t typically apply to green-card holders, were designed to keep illegal migrants with limited English off American highways.
Democratic-aligned labor groups sued to block the policy in October. An appeals court paused enforcement this month while the case moves forward.
DOT has already yanked $40 million from California after accusing state officials of ignoring federal English proficiency rules and improperly issuing 17,000 non-domiciled CDLs to migrant drivers. Now the department is threatening to cut another $160 million if the state refuses to comply.
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