Transit Sec threatens to withhold $75 million from PA for giving trucker license to illegal immigrant terror suspect

The Trump administration is threatening to withhold $75 million in federal funding from Pennsylvania over the issue of how they issue non-domiciled Commercial Driver's Licenses (CDLs) to foreign nationals in the US.

This comes after there was an illegal immigrant from Uzbek that had an international warrant for his arrests for terrorism charges who was pulled over in Kansas but had Pennsylvania issued CDL. In a letter from Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as well as the state transportation department, he spoke about concerns that Pennsylvania issued “non domiciled CDLs [commercial driver’s licenses] with an expiration date that extended well beyond the driver’s authorized stay in the United States" as well as failed to "require any proof of lawful presence before issuing a CDL [commercial driver’s license].”

In a statement regarding the letter, Duffy told the Daily Wire, “Under President Trump, this Department is taking every measure to ensure dangerous foreign drivers aren’t illegally operating 40-ton vehicles on American roads."

"Joe Biden allowed tens of millions of illegals to pour into our country through open borders, including a suspected terrorist who Pennsylvania then allowed to get behind the wheel of a semitruck. I will continue to fight to get these dangerous drivers off our roads to protect American families and support our national security," Duffy added.

Shapiro's office, however, said that the state has complied with requirements for issuing CDLs. “Following the release of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association’s (FMCSA) Interim Final Rule on September 29, 2025, PennDOT immediately paused issuing all non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs). PennDOT [Pennsylvania Department of Transportation] fully cooperated with FMCSA’s regularly-scheduled audit – and out of 150 cases the federal government audited, FMSCA did not identify a single commercial driver’s license issued to someone who was not eligible,” Shapiro’s office said.

“All non-citizens who apply for driver’s licenses, including CDLs [commercial driver’s licenses], must provide PennDOT with proof of identity and must have their legal presence in this country verified through the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database – a database maintained by the United States Department of Homeland Security. PennDOT follows the established federal process for confirming that the applicant was lawfully present using the SAVE database in every case,” the office added.

The letter to Pennsylvania comes as the Trump administration has been pushing Democrat-run states to reform their CDL programs in order to not allow illegal immigrants to be driving on the roads behind heavy-duty vehicles, and to ensure that non-citizens who are driving on the roads have enough ability to drive safely.