After months of refusing to comply with federal regulations requiring truck drivers to be tested for English language proficiency, California Governor Gavin Newsom is finally reversing course, the United States Department of Transportation confirmed to the Post on Friday.
The USDOTwithheld over $40 millionfrom the state last October after USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy said California was the only state that failed to enforce the regulations requiring truckers pass a test showing they can communicate in English and understand traffic signs.
“I shouldn’t have had to threaten to withhold millions in funding for California to come to their senses and enforce the law,” Duffy told The California Post. “For those who said we’re playing politics—our efforts have gotten real results for the American people.”
In an effort to strengthen road safety, President Donald Trump signed anexecutive orderback in April that pulled truckers from the road and disqualified those who failed their ELP test.
State law enforcement is required to test drivers for proficiency in English during routine traffic stops.
The USDOT confirmed to The Post that California has started to enforce the longstanding rules, and the department is now in the processing of unfreezing the $40 million in federal funds.
In August, a truck driver who caused a deadly crash when he made an illegal U-turn on theFlorida Turnpike, did not speak English and failed the assessment, providing only 2 of 12 correct responses to verbal questions and only accurately identifying 1 of 4 highway traffic signs, according to the USDOT.
Trump had not yet restored theELP violationswhen California issued the driver the commercial license in 2024.
California issued the commercial license, but Trump’s executive order had not been in place.
“If states had followed the rules, this driver would never have been behind the wheel and three precious lives would still be with us.” Duffy said in a statement at the time.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
