Category: Sean duffy
‘Slow-walking’ safety? Trump DOT threatens to yank $24M over Colorado’s illegal CDL mess.
The Department of Transportation warned Colorado that the state could lose $24 million in federal highway funding if it continues to drag its feet on addressing illegally issued commercial driver’s licenses, according to a press release exclusively obtained by Blaze News.
‘Colorado has two options: Revoke the licenses immediately, or I will pull federal funding.’
In September, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy shared the results of a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration audit, which found “systemic noncompliance” among state driver licensing agencies in several states, including Colorado.
The audit revealed that 22% of Colorado’s non-domiciled CDLs were issued illegally. Most of those licenses were reportedly issued to Mexican nationals. Drivers who are citizens of Mexico or Canada are ineligible to obtain non-domiciled CDLs and must instead acquire licenses from their home countries.
Some of the CDLs issued to immigrants by Colorado reportedly had expiration dates that exceeded the drivers’ lawful presence in the U.S.
The DOT demanded that the state immediately pull the illegal licenses to come into compliance with federal laws.
A Monday press release from the department claimed that Colorado had “admitted that these violations were not accidental, but the result of a 2016 statewide policy decision to disregard federal law and give trucking licenses to ineligible Mexican citizens.”
Blaze News reached out to the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles, and the governor’s office for comment. The Colorado DOT directed Blaze News to contact the state’s Department of Revenue, which oversees the Division of Motor Vehicles.
RELATED: Exclusive: DOT withholds $40M from blue state for flouting English requirements for truckers
Sean Duffy. Photographer: Ryan Collerd/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The DOT asserted that the state has been “slow-walking a purge of illegally issued truck licenses,” cautioning that Colorado could lose $24 million in federal highway funds. The DOT also warned that it could decertify Colorado’s CDL program.
According to the department, Colorado has not produced a complete audit or accounting of the illegal licenses.
“This continued delay signals a lack of urgency that puts public safety at risk,” the press release read.
RELATED: Trump’s DOT claims 53% of New York’s non-domiciled CDLs were issued illegally
Photo by GEORGE FREY/AFP via Getty Images
“Colorado doesn’t get to pick and choose what federal rules it follows — especially when the driving public is at risk,” Secretary Duffy stated. “It’s been nearly two months since Colorado admitted that they knowingly broke the law and gave Mexican nationals trucking licenses. Colorado has two options: Revoke the licenses immediately, or I will pull federal funding. Every day that goes by is another day unqualified, unvetted foreign truckers are jeopardizing the safety of you and your family.”
Colorado received notice of its noncompliance in September, the same time the DOT also issued a similar notice to Texas. On September 29, the Texas Department of Public Safety announced that it had complied with the DOT’s request and immediately suspended the issuance of certain CDLs.
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Illegal alien bus driver who can’t speak English allegedly kills American while ‘distracted by a video on his phone’
An American citizen was killed in a multi-vehicle pileup in Tennessee last week after an illegal alien bus driver allegedly rear-ended a semi-truck while driving along I-40.
This marks the latest fatal crash tied to an illegal alien who obtained a commercial driver’s license in the United States despite unlawful status.
‘Far too many innocent Americans have been killed by illegal aliens driving semi-trucks and big rigs.’
Yisong Huang, a 54-year-old Chinese national, illegally entered the U.S. in 2023. While he admitted to Border Patrol agents that he had unlawfully entered the country, the Biden administration released him and provided him with work authorization documents and a Social Security card, the Department of Homeland Security reported.
Huang used his work documents to obtain a Class B CDL in New York, which allowed him to operate a bus.
On December 9, Huang allegedly caused a multi-vehicle crash after he rear-ended a tractor-trailer. Investigators found that Huang was “distracted by a video on his phone.”
The incident resulted in the death of American citizen Kerry Smith and injuries to two other individuals. There were no passengers on Huang’s bus at the time of the crash.
RELATED: Trump’s DOT claims 53% of New York’s non-domiciled CDLs were issued illegally
Sean Duffy. Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images
Huang failed his English proficiency test administered after the fatal collision.
“Far too many innocent Americans have been killed by illegal aliens driving semi-trucks and big rigs. And yet sanctuary states around the country have been issuing illegal aliens commercial driver’s licenses. The Trump administration is ending the chaos,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said. “The brave men and women of ICE are working nonstop to get criminal illegal aliens out of our communities and off our roads.”
RELATED: Illegal alien trucker accused of causing crash that killed newlyweds
Kristi Noem. Photo by ALEX BRANDON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, “It’s not just that Joe Biden let millions of migrants flood into our country illegally. His administration doled out the documentation these unqualified foreigner drivers needed to obtain trucking licenses and operate 40-ton missiles on the highway. The fact that this individual failed a basic English test also calls into question how he even got the license in the first place. Working with Secretary Noem, we will continue to fight to keep you and your family safe on America’s roadways.”
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Trump’s DOT claims 53% of New York’s non-domiciled CDLs were issued illegally
President Donald Trump’s Department of Transportation announced new action against another Democratic-led state that it claims has been illegally issuing non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses.
On Friday morning, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed that an audit from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found that over half of New York state’s non-domiciled CDLs were issued illegally. The audit sampled 200 records and discovered that 107, or 53%, were issued in violation of federal law.
‘What we uncovered in New York is not an administrative oversight.’
There are reportedly 32,000 active non-domiciled CDLs that were issued by New York.
According to the DOT, the New York Department of Motor Vehicles defaulted to issuing eight-year licenses to foreign drivers who applied for non-REAL ID licenses, regardless of when their legal status expired.
“This systemic failure allows the state to blindly grant long-term commercial driving privileges to foreigners that expire long after the expiration of their lawful presence in the country,” the DOT stated.
Additionally, the department claimed that New York failed to provide any evidence that it had verified the lawful presence of foreign individuals before issuing them commercial driver’s licenses. In some instances, New York allegedly relied on expired lawful presence documents to issue licenses.
Sean Duffy. Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images
As a result of the concerning findings, the DOT has demanded that New York immediately pause the issuance of new or renewed non-domiciled CDLs and commercial learner’s permits.
The state has also been asked to conduct an internal audit to identify licenses that were issued in violation of federal regulations. The DOT warned that the state risks losing $73 million in federal highway funding if it fails to revoke all illegally issued licenses held by foreign drivers immediately.
“When more than half of the licenses reviewed were issued illegally, it isn’t just a mistake — it is a dereliction of duty by state leadership. Gov. [Kathy] Hochul must immediately revoke these illegally issued licenses. If they refuse to follow the law, we will withhold federal highway funding,” Duffy stated. “This administration will never stop fighting to keep you and your family safe on our roads.”
Photo by GEORGE FREY/AFP via Getty Images
During a Friday morning press conference announcing the findings, Duffy explained that states that illegally issue CDLs endanger American drivers nationwide, since the licenses allow interstate operations.
Duffy described New York as the worst offender for issuing licenses in violation of federal law. The DOT has given New York 30 days to come into compliance.
California and New York account for half of the non-domiciled CDLs issued in the nation, Duffy stated.
“What we uncovered in New York is not an administrative oversight,” FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs stated during the press conference. “It’s a systematically, grossly unacceptable deviation from a federal safety regulation that has been on the books for a long period of time.”
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‘Make travel family friendly again’: Trump admin launches $1B effort to improve airport experience
The Trump administration’s Departments of Transportation and Health and Human Services are teaming up to launch a new effort to “make travel family friendly again” by providing more family-friendly resources and healthier food options at America’s airports.
On Monday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held a press conference at Reagan National Airport to announce a new family-friendly travel campaign that will allocate $1 billion in grant funding to airports to improve the travel experience.
‘I can tell you that this is where healthy diets go to die.’
Duffy provided a few examples of how the funds could be used, such as play areas for children, nursing pods for breastfeeding mothers, workout spaces, and separate security lanes for families. He noted that the funds could be used for a range of investments and that the department was open to other improvement suggestions.
“It’s pretty wide open on what airports want to ask for a grant,” Duffy stated.
He stated that he has also reached out to the airlines to encourage them to consider how they could improve the travel experience.
As part of the new campaign, Duffy and Kennedy are advocating for healthy food options at the nation’s airports.
Sean Duffy. Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images
“I … typically over the past 30 years, probably average 250 days a year in airports. And I can tell you that this is where healthy diets go to die,” Kennedy said. “It’s deep-fried food; it’s sugar bombs; it’s ultra-processed foods. And all of them are gonna leave you sicker than before you ate them.”
During Monday’s press conference, Duffy and Kennedy highlighted Farmer’s Fridge, a company that operates vending machines offering salads, sandwiches, bowls, and oats. Luke Saunders, the CEO of Farmer’s Fridge, who also attended the press conference, explained that he founded the company 12 years ago and that it now operates vending machines in over 30 U.S. airports.
“If you want to reach out to your airport authority and encourage them to participate in this money, please do that,” Duffy said.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images
Duffy noted that last week the department hired an integrator who will help convert the nation’s air travel technology from analog to digital.
In November, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that the Transportation Security Administration would roll out new security screening lanes at select airports for families with small children, as well as for veterans and active-duty military.
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America, Please Put Some Pants On
Somerset Maugham once said that the well-dressed man is the one whose clothes you never notice. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean…
The Flying Public Is Getting Surly. Don’t Let It Ruin Thanksgiving.
WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is my new hero. Duffy is promoting a “civility” campaign that urges passengers to…
Exclusive interview: DOT Secretary Duffy explains how he’s making flying great again in time for Thanksgiving
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy ruffled feathers among the professionally offended last week by noting that “traveling has become more uncivilized.”
Duffy cited Federal Aviation Administration data indicating a 400% increase of in-flight outbursts, including physical violence since 2019; 13,800 reported unruly passenger incidents since 2021; and a doubling last year of unruly passenger events compared with 2019.
‘Did people start kind of acting more like animals because they were treated more like animals?’
As part of the Department of Transportation’s broader effort to usher in a “Golden Age of Travel for the American people” — which dovetails with an initiative to beautify and restore key transportation infrastructure — Duffy kicked off a campaign on Wednesday aimed at jump-starting “a nationwide conversation around how we can restore courtesy and class to air travel.”
In an interview with Blaze News editor Christopher Bedford on Monday, Duffy said he’s not necessarily calling for a return to three-piece suits and top hats — just a return to basic decency.
“I think it’s a confluence of things that have come together that have caused people, as they get on airplanes, to be less civil to each other,” Duffy said.
Duffy identified long lines at airports and airlines’ efforts to cram passengers into increasingly smaller spaces as two contributing factors.
According to the advocacy group FlyersRights.org, airline seats have shrunk in recent decades while passengers have largely grown in size, such that as of 2022, “less than 50% of the public can reasonably fit in current seats.”
“The airline is trying to put, you know, a lot of people on an airplane, sell as many tickets as possible, and by doing that, they’re able to reduce the cost of travel and make it affordable for more people,” Duffy said. “But then you feel like you’re cargo.”
RELATED: ‘Disruptive’ woman causes flight with 4 congressmen to divert: ‘We live in a fascist state’
Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images
“Did people start kind of acting more like animals because they were treated more like animals? Or did airline crews have to crack down and treat people like that because of the actions they were seeing?” Bedford asked. “There was an obvious breakdown during COVID.”
Duffy suggested that the transformation of flight attendants into mask-enforcers during the pandemic helped cultivate a more confrontational environment, which — when coupled with disrespect from the airlines and from passengers alike, signaled by the latter with an apparent increase in slovenly dress — helped grease the slide into relative barbarism.
Among the alleged incidents referred by the FAA to the FBI last year were sexual assaults, attacks on fellow passengers and/or flight staff, instances of inappropriate touching of minor fliers, and incidents where passengers attempted to breach the cockpit.
‘I think we can be better.’
While physical violence and inappropriate touching are obvious examples of the behavior the Trump administration seeks to curb in air travel, Duffy noted that incivility finds various forms — such as passengers taking their shoes off and placing them on the seats in front of them, playing movies on high volume without headphones, and touching other fliers’ TV screens with their bare toes.
“I want to have a conversation with America that says, ‘Listen, let’s call our better angels. Let’s all be better when we travel together,'” Duffy told Blaze News.
The DOT secretary emphasized that it’s necessary not only to curb nasty behavior but to embrace good behavior: “Let’s dress more respectfully. Let’s be nicer to one another. Let’s say please and thank you.”
Duffy suggested, for instance, that if capable men see a woman struggling to put her bag into the overhead bin, they should man up and step in to help.
“I think we can be better — better humans, better Americans, better travelers,” the secretary said.
A change in general behavior could make traveling a whole lot less vexatious, not only daily where the TSA’s current volume is roughly 2.48 million souls, but this week — a week where the Transportation Security Administration expects to screen more than 17.8 million people from Nov. 25 to Dec. 2, with over 3 million souls on Sunday alone.
“We are projecting that the Sunday after Thanksgiving will be one of the busiest travel days in TSA history,” Adam Stahl, a senior official at the TSA, said in statement.
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Trucker Theft Rings Stealing Millions As Industry Reels From Horrific Crashes
Trucker Theft Rings Stealing Millions As Industry Reels From Horrific Crashes
FAA cancels hundreds of flights, sparking holiday travel concerns amid ongoing Democrat shutdown
With Americans preparing for Thanksgiving and Christmas travel this year, the government shutdown is beginning to affect travel plans. With operation cuts going into effect over the next week, pressure is mounting for Democrats to come to the table and reopen the government.
According to multiple reports, between 700 and 800 flights at major travel hubs have been canceled as a Federal Aviation Administration emergency order went into effect on Friday.
‘This level of cancellation is going to grow over time, and that’s something that is going to be problematic.’
Forty major airports are affected by the order, though increased stress has been noted at other airports as well.
Many people in the transportation sector have expressed their frustration with the shutdown, particularly as the holiday travel season looms on the horizon.
RELATED: CNN analyst: Public opinion has shifted amid shutdown — but not for the party you’d expect
Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
On CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom called the government shutdown’s impact on flights “frustrating”: “What we’ve done today is we tried to minimize the impact on all of our customers. There’s only 220 flights out of 6,200 flights, and we’ve done it in a way that really impacts our smaller aircraft.”
“This level of cancellation is going to grow over time, and that’s something that is going to be problematic,” Isom added.
According to the FAA’s emergency order, cuts in operations began November 7 to ensure the safe and efficient use of airspace and aircraft. The reductions will gradually increase over the next week with a planned 10% reduction at “high impact airports” from Anchorage to Orlando by November 10.
Air traffic controllers have been working without pay since October 3, according to the order.
As of Wednesday, this government shutdown surpassed the previous record of 35 days, which took place in 2018.
On Friday, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy responded to the increased stress on air travel: “I have done all I can to minimize disruption in the airspace. I’m trying to get people where they want to go and to get there safely.”
Noting that the situation is not ideal, Duffy called for the government to reopen: “We are taking unprecedented action at @USDOT because we are in an unprecedented shutdown,” he added.
Democrats have signaled that they are unwilling to cooperate with Republicans to fund the government on Friday without more health care concessions, likely extending the 38-day shutdown.
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Democrats’ shutdown is about to make catching a flight a lot harder
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Tuesday that if Democrats keep the government shut down, there could be serious repercussions for air travel as air traffic controllers — those directing over 44,000 flights and more than 3 million airline passengers daily — are being spread thin and overworked without pay.
“You will see mass chaos. You will see mass flight delays,” said Duffy. “You’ll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace because we just cannot manage it.”
‘Asking them to go without a full month’s pay or more is simply not sustainable.’
Duffy’s warning evidently fell on deaf ears. Democrats have, after all, made explicit their intention to use Americans’ pain and inconvenience as political “leverage.” A senior Democrat aide even indicated last month that the party will not concede short of “planes falling out of the sky.”
Citing air traffic control personnel issues and the need to keep American skies safe, Duffy announced on Wednesday that the Federal Aviation Administration will be reducing air traffic by 10% across 40 “high-volume” markets starting on Friday.
Despite his recent initiatives to recruit, train, and retain air traffic controllers, Duffy indicated that the fruits of such efforts take years to fully manifest and that at present, the FAA is still 2,000 controllers short. The government shutdown greatly compounds the impact of this underlying staffing problem as the existing workforce is spread thin, overworked, and paid nothing.
While air traffic controllers received a partial payment in early October, Duffy indicated that they haven’t been paid since, prompting some controllers to take second jobs.
RELATED: Trump uses tariff revenue to protect poor mothers and kids hurt by Democrats’ shutdown
Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“Our air traffic controllers, and a lot of those who work at DOT but throughout government, they haven’t received paychecks,” said Duffy. “Many of these employees, they’re the head of household. They have their spouse at home. They have a child or two or three, and when they lose income, they are confronted with real-world difficulties in how they pay their bills.”
Nick Daniels, the president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said in a statement on Friday, “For this nation’s air traffic controllers, missing just one paycheck can be a significant hardship, as it is for all working Americans. Asking them to go without a full month’s pay or more is simply not sustainable.”
‘We are not going to do anything that will compromise the safety of air transport in the United States.’
“During the shutdown, these professionals are required to oversee the movement of the nation’s passengers and cargo while many are working ten-hour days and six-day workweeks due to the ongoing staffing shortage, all without pay,” continued Daniels. “This situation creates substantial distractions for individuals who are already engaged in extremely stressful work. The financial and mental strain increases risks within the National Airspace System, making it less safe with each passing day of the shutdown.”
Bryan Bedford, the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, noted that a recent deep dive into National Airspace System data revealed both “issues of fatigue” among controllers and pressures building in a way that if left unchecked could impact air safety.
“The data is telling us we need to do more, and we are going to do more,” said Bedford.
“We’re going to look for a ratable reduction across these 40 markets over the next 48 hours,” said the FAA administrator.
“We’re not going to wait for a safety problem to truly manifest itself when the early indicators are telling us we can take action today to prevent things from deteriorating.”
While the FAA has not released the final list of airports that will have their capacity cut, a source provided a proposed list to CBS News naming the following airports:
- Anchorage International (ANC)
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL)
- Boston Logan International (BOS)
- Baltimore/Washington International (BWI)
- Charlotte Douglas International (CLT)
- Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG)
- Dallas Love (DAL)
- Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA)
- Denver International (DEN)
- Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW)
- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW)
- Newark Liberty International (EWR)
- Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International (FLL)
- Honolulu International (HNL)
- Houston Hobby (HOU)
- Washington Dulles International (IAD)
- George Bush Houston Intercontinental (IAH)
- Indianapolis International (IND)
- New York John F. Kennedy International (JFK)
- Las Vegas Harry Reid International (LAS)
- Los Angeles International (LAX)
- New York LaGuardia (LGA)
- Orlando International (MCO)
- Chicago Midway (MDW)
- Memphis International (MEM)
- Miami International (MIA)
- Minneapolis/St. Paul International (MSP)
- Oakland International (OAK)
- Ontario International (ONT)
- Chicago O’Hare International (ORD)
- Portland International (PDX)
- Philadelphia International (PHL)
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX)
- San Diego International (SAN)
- Louisville International (SDF)
- Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA)
- San Francisco International (SFO)
- Salt Lake City International (SLC)
- Teterboro (TEB)
- Tampa International (TPA)
“If the pressures continue to build even after we take these measures, we’ll come back and take additional measures,” continued the FAA administrator. “We’re trying to be prescriptive, surgical, put the relief where the relief will do the most good, but again, we are not going to do anything that will compromise the safety of air transport in the United States.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday, “We want to reopen the government so we can resume travel in the safest and most efficient way possible, especially as we head into the busiest travel season.”
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