A coalition of more than 20 blue states and the District of Columbia have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration in a desperate bid to block Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the Department of Homeland Security from accessing the national Commercial Driver’s License Information System database containing records on approximately 17 million truckers.
This is being done in an attempt to protect illegal aliens who have obtained commercial licenses and now pose a deadly threat on American highways.
The administration has been launching an aggressive crackdown on unqualified and illegally licensed commercial drivers, many of whom cannot even speak basic English to read road signs.
Last week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration demanded that the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, which operates the CDLIS database on behalf of the states, turn over five years of records for every commercial driver by August 17 or face the termination of more than $10 million in federal contracts and funding.
The Department of Homeland Security also issued a subpoena seeking the same data.
The states, including California, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington, Oregon, and others, responded by filing suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, claiming the demand violates privacy laws and exceeds federal authority.
A federal judge has already issued a temporary administrative stay blocking the transfer while the case proceeds.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wasted no time condemning the lawsuits as an effort to protect dangerous drivers.
“Every administration since 1988 has had access to this basic database, so let’s be clear on what this ridiculous lawsuit is really all about. These radical state AGs want to make it harder for my Department to enforce the rules of the road and easier for dangerous illegal immigrant truck drivers to operate a big rig,” Duffy said in a statement.
“They may not care about keeping you and your family safe, but President Trump and I do. We will fight this lawsuit tooth and nail to prevent more senseless crashes by unqualified drivers,” Duffy added.
WATCH:
🚨 BREAKING UPDATE: Over 20 LIBERAL-RUN STATES are SUING President Trump to shield 17 million CDL records from Sec. Sean Duffy — because they are giving licenses to illegal aliens who endanger Americans on the road
Seize the rolls, this is INTERSTATE commerce
“The Trump admin… pic.twitter.com/gQYu2QIVMj
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 18, 2026
President Trump issued an executive order in April 2025 to restore integrity to the trucking sector, and the administration has already revoked more than 30,000 illegally issued commercial driver’s licenses, removed nearly 10,000 fraudulent training providers, and taken over 26,000 non-English proficient operators out of service.
The push for full database access is intended to identify improperly licensed drivers who have been involved in fatal crashes.
Commercial driving is interstate commerce that demands uniform federal standards.
States issuing licenses to illegal aliens without proper verification have created a public safety crisis.
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