Colorado threatened with loss of $24 million for ‘lack of urgency’ in revoking illegally-issued CDLs: USDOT
Colorado has become the latest state threatened with the loss of federal transportation funding over the handling of non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs).
On December 22, 2025, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that Colorado could lose $24 million in federal highway funds if the state does not immediately revoke illegally-issued CDLs.
Duffy said that in October 2025, a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) nationwide audit showed that roughly 22% of Colorado’s non-domiciled CDLs were issued illegally, and that “many of these licenses were given to Mexican nationals – which is explicitly prohibited under federal regulations.”
From Duffy’s statement:
“When pressed, Colorado 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. The state has also allowed non-domiciled CDL expiration dates to exceed the drivers’ lawful presence documents, effectively allowing individuals to drive trucks on American roadways long after their legal status to remain in the country had expired.
Despite receiving the notice of non-compliance, Colorado officials have failed to produce a completed audit or a full accounting of the illegal licenses. The state is still unable to account for how many unqualified drivers are currently on the road, nor have they completed the necessary actions to revoke these credentials. This continued delay signals a lack of urgency that puts public safety at risk.“
Other states that Duffy has threatened with the loss of federal transportation funding over CDL issuance include New York, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and California.
“Colorado doesn’t get to pick and choose what federal rules it follows – especially when the driving public is at risk,” said Duffy. “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.”
In late September 2025, USDOT announced an emergency interim final rule to increase federal oversight of how states issue non-domiciled commercial learner’s permits (CLPs) and CDLs. On November 10, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ordered an administrative stay on the FMCSA emergency interim final rule after a lawsuit was filed challenging the legality of the rulemaking process.