Trump administration says over 28,000 commercial truck licenses revoked; Karoline Leavitt highlights crackdown

The Trump administration has said it worked with US states to cancel more than 28,000 commercial driver's licences (CDLs) that it claims were issued improperly to foreign drivers. It also said the commercial driving privileges of over 24,000 non-citizens were revoked for failing to meet English-language proficiency requirements. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared the announcement on X.

In her post, Leavitt shared a report that stated the administration had "knocked over 24,000 drivers off our roads for failing to speak English, forced states to cancel over 28,000 licenses illegally issued to foreign drivers, and purged over 9,500 unqualified training schools from our FMCSA registry."

The figures are part of a joint announcement by the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The agencies said they are working with state governments to identify commercial driver's licences that were issued in violation of federal rules and to enforce English-language requirements for commercial vehicle operators.


According to the administration, nearly 9,500 commercial driver training schools have also been removed from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) Training Provider Registry as part of efforts to address fraud in the commercial licensing system.

"DHS will be a force multiplier of our efforts to clean up America's roads. President Trump is using every lever at his disposal to ensure the safety of American families," the report quoted US Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy as saying.

The administration has also announced the "Freedom Haul" initiative, which aims to recruit US military veterans into the trucking industry. Under the programme, veterans with experience driving heavy military vehicles would receive a streamlined pathway to obtaining a commercial driver's licence, while other veterans would have access to accelerated training and licensing.

The announcements are part of the Trump administration's broader effort to tighten commercial trucking regulations, strengthen oversight of CDL issuance and training providers, and expand the domestic trucking workforce.