California sues Trump administration over terminated transportation grants

California sued the Trump administration late on Friday for withholding more than $33 million in federal funding after the U.S. Transportation Department said the state failed to comply with rules requiring English proficiency for truck drivers.

The state sued Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the Transportation Department and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in U.S. District Court in northern California over the decision to terminate the grants for California’s commercial vehicle safety programs announced in October.

California said it enforces English-language standards for commercial drivers that are compatible with federal requirements and said the decision was “arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, and contrary to law; imperils the safety of all persons driving in California; and threatens to wreak significant economic damage.”

The Trump administration has taken a series of steps to address concerns about foreign truck drivers who do not speak English. In August, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States was immediately pausing the issuance of all worker visas for commercial truck drivers.

The Transportation Department and FMCSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Also on Friday, the Transportation Department threatened to pull $73 million in funding from New York state over commercial driver licenses improperly issued to non-U.S. citizens, the latest Trump administration threat aimed at Democratic-run states.

In September, the Transportation Department issued emergency rules to drastically restrict commercial driver licenses to non-U.S. citizens after a fatal crash in Florida and a government audit.

Trump has regularly threatened funding for large cities run by Democrats, including for major infrastructure projects in Chicago and New York and over commercial driver licenses issued to non-U.S. residents by Minnesota, New York and California.

The funding withheld from California is for roadside inspections, traffic enforcement, safety audits of trucking companies and public education campaigns.

California said that drivers holding a California license were involved in 39% fewer fatal commercial vehicle accidents than the national average.

While the English-proficiency standard for truckers was already longstanding U.S. law, an order issued by Trump in April reversed 2016 guidance that inspectors should not place commercial drivers out of service if their only violation was lack of English.

FMCSA said in 2023 that about 16% of U.S. truck drivers were born outside the United States.