California Governor Gavin Newsom has finally submitted, after months of refusing to comply with the Department of Transportation, and will now require truck drivers to be tested for English language proficiency. The move came after the federal government withheld more than $40 million in funding from the Golden State since last October, and threatened to pull another $160 million in February.
“I shouldn’t have had to threaten to withhold millions in funding for California to come to their senses and enforce the law,” Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said. “For those who said we’re playing politics—our efforts have gotten real results for the American people.”
Last year, Duffy revealed that California was the only state failing to enforce regulations requiring truckers to demonstrate English proficiency and comprehension of traffic signs.
This comes after a series of deadly crashes involving foreign drivers who held Commercial Driver’s Licenses issued by various states.
In August 2025, Harjinder Singh, an Indian national in the U.S. illegally holding CDLs from both California and Washington, caused a fatal three-death wreck as he made an illegal U-turn on Florida's Turnpike. In October 2025, a non-domiciled CDL holder failed to stop on a California highway, sparking an eight-vehicle pileup that killed three. And most recently, in February 2026, a Kyrgyz national driving a semitruck crossed into oncoming traffic in Indiana, killing four.
Despite the clear safety risks, Newsom refused to cooperate with the federal government, seemingly using the issue as another opportunity to oppose President Trump in his 2028 presidential bid. Unfortunately for Newsom, California was still reliant on federal funding to maintain its programs.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/dmitri-bolt/2026/02/20/ca-bends-the-knee-now-requires-english-tests-for-truck-drivers-n2671654
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