Feds Blast Minnesota over Fraudulently Issued Commercial Driver’s Licenses
US DOT Chief Sean Duffy: “Our audit exposes yet another example of foreigners taking advantage of Minnesota services under Governor Walz’s watch.”
In the wake of a horrific crash involving an illegal immigrant with a commercial driver’s license, Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy ordered a nationwide audit by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
In the wake of audits and the threat of fines, the state of California revoked 17.000 CDLs to the non-domiciled (not legally a resident of the state or the US as a citizen or a permanent resident). Pennsylvania is poised to lose DOT funding if it doesn’t clean up its CDL-issuing process.
Now, Minnesota is in the hot seat, as one-third of the CDLs reeked of fraud.
The issuance of non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) in Minnesota reviewed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) puts the state at risk of losing federal funding, after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy released a statement on Monday saying that an audit found one-third of those reviewed were illegal.
What We Know: FMCSA’s audit findings released on Monday allege the state has issued non-domiciled CDLs to:
- Drivers whose licenses were valid long after their lawful presence in the U.S. expired.
- Drivers who were prohibited from holding a non-domiciled commercial CDL.
- Drivers without Minnesota first verifying the individual’s lawful presence in the U.S.
But in Gov. Tim Walz’s Minnesota, fraud is a way of life.
🚨🚨It just keeps getting worse for @GovTimWalz.
Just one day after 400 BRAVE employees from @MinnesotaDHS exposed “massive fraud,” @USDOT has discovered that ONE THIRD of non-domiciled CDLs were issued ILLEGALLY in the state.
MINNESOTA: You’re on notice. You have 30 days to… https://t.co/EDsPx9lQKg
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) December 2, 2025
The clock is ticking for Minnesota to clean up its CDL process before over $30 million in fines kick in.
According to USDOT, the state has 30 days to come into compliance and revoke the illegally issued licenses or risk losing up to $30.4 million in federal highway funding.
“Our audit exposes yet another example of foreigners taking advantage of Minnesota services under Governor Walz’s watch,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy via a press release. “Minnesota failed to follow the law and illegally doled out trucking licenses to unsafe, unqualified non-citizens – endangering American families on the road. That abuse stops now under the Trump Administration. The Department will withhold funding if Minnesota continues this reckless behavior that puts non-citizens gaming the system ahead of the safety of Americans.”
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sent a letter to Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson outlining the audits findings.
The fixes are common-sense actions that should never have been needed in the first place.
To come into compliance, USDOT said Minnesota must take the following corrective measures:
- Pause issuance of non-domiciled CDLs.
- Identify all unexpired non-domiciled CDLs that fail to comply with FMCSA regulations.
- Revoke and reissue all noncompliant non-domiciled CDLs if they comply with the federal requirements.
- Conduct a comprehensive internal audit to identify all procedural and programming errors, training and quality assurance problems, insufficient policies and practices, and other issues that have resulted in the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs that did not meet federal rules.
But when you pair the Biden Border Disaster with the buffoonery of the previous DOT, Pete Buttigieg, it is clear that Americans were headed down the road of pain, misery, and tragedy. In fact, one 2024 review indicates that when some states began issuing driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, fatal crashes rose by about 5% in those counties, with most of the increase attributed to riskier driving by newly licensed undocumented drivers.
BREAKING: Trump announces former WI congressman Sean Duffy for Transportation Secretary.
Remember when Pete Buttigieg said roads are racist? His qualifications for Transportation Secretary were that he liked trains 😂
Sean Duffy is quite an upgrade! pic.twitter.com/rxjzs1CB4i
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 18, 2024
The current USDOT leadership under Duffy has taken a far more aggressive posture on non‑domiciled CDLs and trucking schools, including mass removals from the Training Provider Registry and direct threats to state funding when CDL issuance is out of compliance. Buttigieg would have likely blamed racist roads and claimed that signs in English are not “inclusive”.
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Comments
“The clock is ticking for Minnesota to clean up its CDL process before over $30 million in fines kick in.”
I expect Walz to wait to see if the presidency changes hands in 2029.
Less than a year after, more and more Biden administration either incompetence or malfeasance are being uncovered. Pete Buttigieg, who has higher ambitions, should be held accountable.
While less draconian than I’d prefer these are prudent first steps towards bringing States into compliance. By gradually escalating pressure instead of a more dramatic action (more satisfying as well) such as immediately suspending use at TSA of any DL/ID issued by Minnesota,.CA, PA or other state not in compliance it remains as a potential action. Rouge Fed Judges more interested in resistance DJT to support their TDS fetish are less likely to be able to find any reasonable grounds to block the measured first steps the Admin is using.
Minnezuela strikes again!!
Can we trade them for Alberta, Canada?
There has to be some way to prosecute everyone involved in this, from the Governor down, at the federal level.
Americans have been killed all over the country as a result of their illegal actions.
And the only “punishment” on the table is a trivial fine that the State’s taxpayers will have to cover?
Seriously?
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