Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened to withdraw $73 million from New York after an investigation found that 53% of those with commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) were issued illegally.
53% of New York’s non-domiciled CDLs were issued unlawfully or illegally. Now what New York does is, if an applicant comes in and they have a work authorization for 30 days, 60 days, one year, New York automatically issues them an eight year commercial driver’s license. That’s contrary to the law. That’s one offense.But we also found that New York many times won’t even verify whether they have a work authorization, they have a visa, or they’re in the country legally. So they’re just giving eight year commercial driver’s licenses to people who are coming through their DMV and sending them out on American roadways, and again, they’re endangering the lives of American families. I don’t like that. I have to do this, the law requires me to do this.I’m going to give New York 30 days because that’s what the law requires to come into compliance with the rules that have been long standing at the Department of Transportation. If they come into compliance, we’re going to work with them.If New York refuses to come into compliance, because Kathy Hochul, for some reason, believes that we should have unqualified truck drivers on American roadways, we are going to pull tens of millions of dollars as phase one for the state of New York.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) found that 107 CDLs out of 200 were not legal.
New York DMV spokesman Walter McClure claimed that Duffy is lying:
“Secretary Duffy is lying about New York state once again in a desperate attempt to distract from the failing, chaotic administration he represents,” NYS DMV spokesperson Walter McClure said.“Here is the truth: Commercial Drivers Licenses are regulated by the Federal Government, and New York State DMV has, and will continue to, comply with federal rules. Every CDL we issue is subject to verification of an applicant’s lawful status through federally issued documents reviewed in accordance with federal regulations. This is just another stunt from Secretary Duffy, and it does nothing to keep our roads safer. We will review USDOT’s letter and respond accordingly.”
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