WASHINGTON — The Trump administration ordered the shutdown of 110 commercial trucking schools nationwide on August 31, 2026. The schools were removed from the federal Training Provider Registry and ordered to immediately cease operations.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin criticized state oversight in certain regions. "By far, the worst abusers are in California under [Gov.] Gavin Newsom’s leadership," Mullin said. He reported that his agency busted more than 800 truckers for unsafe driving during a three-day operation in late July, including 36 who could not speak English. Mullin said, "We put 107 trucks out of commission for individuals that had CDLs and literally on the CDLs it said ‘No Name Given.’" Andrew Ferguson, vice chairman of the anti-fraud task force, said, "If a school is giving out a CDL fraudulently, you need men with guns and prosecutors to find them, put them in jail, and make sure they rot in jail."

Governor Gavin Newsom’s office called the shutdowns a "cynical political stunt" not based on facts. Diana Crofts-Pelayo, spokesperson for Governor Gavin Newsom, stated that drivers holding a commercial driver's license issued by California are involved in fatal crashes at a rate 42% below the national average, according to federal government data.

Eleven of the 110 shut-down schools are located in California. Thirteen of the shut-down schools are located in Pennsylvania. Homeland Security investigators conducted a coordinated sweep of more than 200 training schools in 23 states. U.S. Border Patrol arrested 95 truck drivers possessing state-issued commercial driver's licenses who were in the country illegally, including 76 with California licenses.

Marcus Coleman and his 7-year-old daughter Dalilah attended the news conference. Dalilah was critically injured in 2024 when an 18-wheeler driven by an immigrant from India crashed into their vehicle in the Mojave Desert. Dalilah Coleman suffered a brain injury in 2024 when Partap Singh, an Indian immigrant, caused a pileup with his 18-wheeler in California.

Harjinder Singh, a native of India, was arrested on vehicular homicide charges after a crash on Florida's Turnpike in Fort Pierce killed three people. Officials stated Harjinder Singh had been granted commercial driver's licenses by Washington and California.

The Trump administration has revoked the commercial licenses of more than 28,000 drivers for English language proficiency failures since June 2025. President Trump signed an executive order requiring commercial truck drivers to prove English proficiency shortly after returning to the White House. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration moved to codify English language requirements through the federal rulemaking process in early August 2026.

The federal government withheld $160 million in transportation funding after California delayed revoking approximately 13,000 licenses. California’s Department of Motor Vehicles found that some 7,000 license cancellations had been issued in error. The Asian Law Caucus and Sikh Coalition sued California’s DMV on behalf of drivers who faced cancellation of their licenses. An Alameda County judge declined to halt the license cancellations in March but required the DMV to establish a reapplication process. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul sued the Trump administration along with attorneys general from 20 other states to block access to Commercial Driver’s License Information System databases. The Trump administration threatened to cut more than $10 million in federal funding to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators for not handing over five years of data from the Commercial Driver’s License Information System.

Why It Matters

In 2024, about 5,200 large trucks were involved in fatal crashes, a 3% decrease from 2023 but a 30% increase over the previous 10 years, according to the National Safety Council. The events described span 3 years, from 2023 to 2026. The shutdown represents a reduction in the number of active training providers, falling from 110 to 20, an 81.8% decrease. The number of affected drivers dropped from 28,000 to 5,000, an 82.1% decrease.

Timeline

On May 13, 2024, the Texas Attorney General issued Opinion No. KP-0464 regarding the construction of Health & Safety Code section 571.018. On December 31, 2024, Dalilah Coleman suffered a brain injury when Partap Singh, an Indian immigrant, caused a pileup with his 18-wheeler in California.

On March 31, 2026, an Alameda County judge declined to halt the license cancellations but required the DMV to establish a reapplication process. On July 31, 2026, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said his agency busted more than 800 truckers for unsafe driving during a three-day operation in late July, including 36 who could not speak English. On August 1, 2026, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration moved to codify English language requirements through the federal rulemaking process. On August 31, 2026, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, "You have to speak English to operate a commercial vehicle. I didn’t create that rule. President Trump didn’t create that rule. That rule has been in place for decades, and we have schools that know the rule and still pass people through their school who can’t speak the language." Also on August 31, 2026, Derek Barrs said every one of the 110 shut-down schools passed at least 10 drivers who were subsequently cited for lack of English language proficiency during roadside inspections.

What's New

Additional reporting includes statements from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who said, "You have to speak English to operate a commercial vehicle. I didn’t create that rule. President Trump didn’t create that rule. That rule has been in place for decades, and we have schools that know the rule and still pass people through their school who can’t speak the language." Barrs said every one of the 110 shut-down schools passed at least 10 drivers who were subsequently cited for lack of English language proficiency during roadside inspections.

The relevant number is 5,000 drivers who failed English language proficiency tests, which the Trump administration cited as the reason for the shutdown of 110 commercial trucking schools. Derek Barrs stated that ASC Technical Institute in Texas certified 58 drivers with English proficiency violations, and one trainee killed a local man in a Texas county. The official record of this event states that 110 commercial driving schools were shut down for alleged willful disregard of federal regulations, with every single one of these schools passing at least 10 drivers who were later cited for English language proficiency violations. U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy said, "If you’re here illegally and you can’t speak the language and you’re not well-trained, you don’t deserve to be in a big rig, driving American roads, endangering American citizens." U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy said, "We’re not gonna have a problem. We’re gonna have truck drivers."

How Sources Differ

Regarding English language proficiency figures, Barrs said every one of the 110 shut-down schools passed at least 10 drivers who were subsequently cited for lack of English language proficiency during roadside inspections. In contrast, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration statement noted that Derek Barrs, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, cited Platinum Plus Truck Driving School in Fresno for certifying 36 drivers later cited for English language proficiency violations. Additionally, the Department of Transportation announcement stated that officials stated the 110 schools were connected to more than 5,000 drivers who failed English language proficiency tests.

Regarding the requirement to speak English, U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy said, "You have to speak English to operate a commercial vehicle. I didn’t create that rule. President Trump didn’t create that rule. That rule has been in place for decades, and we have schools that know the rule and still pass people through their school who can’t speak the language." The Department of Transportation records stated that the Trump administration has revoked the commercial licenses of more than 28,000 drivers for English language proficiency failures since June 2025.