The Department of Transportation (DOT) is ramping up its nationwide crackdown on fraud and safety violations in the trucking industry, again targeting the commercial driver training and testing system that feeds new drivers into the industry.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Monday announced a new multi-state federal task force focused on trucking-related fraud, with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) set to immediately remove more than 110 commercial driver’s license (CDL) training providers from its federal registry. Another 160 schools are being considered for removal. The CDL schools are located in 23 different states.
The actions represent the latest phase of a broader effort by the Trump administration to tighten oversight of truck drivers, particularly around English-language proficiency, non-domiciled CDLs and the training infrastructure used to qualify drivers.
The clampdown on trucking compliance has often overlapped with the administration’s hardline immigration agenda.
“USDOT has spent the last year-and-a-half strengthening the rules of the road and removing dangerous foreign drivers from our trucking industry. To fully root out the scourge of fraud, hold criminals accountable, and restore safety, we need the support of federal law enforcement,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a statement. “From states failing to follow the law to shady training schools and illicit companies, together we will tackle every link in the chain.”
The new Joint Task Force Crossroads of America brings together U.S. attorneys in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio with DOT, FMCSA, the FBI, DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The agencies said the task force will investigate suspected criminal activity and fraudulent practices involving trucking and commercial driver licensing.
According to the FMCSA, the 110 entry-level driver training providers flagged were associated with more than 5,000 drivers who had subsequently failed English-language proficiency requirements.
The agency said the providers must cease operating as registered training providers, including administering federally recognized curricula and conducting behind-the-wheel training.
The FMCSA also said it sent 175 investigators into 40 states in July to conduct nearly 400 investigations of these “CDL mills.” Those investigations uncovered a range of alleged compliance problems, including inadequate space for driving maneuvers, instructors lacking appropriate licenses, missing assessment records and facilities that allegedly misrepresented where classroom instruction was taking place.
More than 160 providers received notices of proposed removal due to those investigations, according to FMCSA.
The agency said drivers certified by those providers have been linked to 239 commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities. That figure comes from FMCSA’s analysis and should be viewed as an agency-reported association rather than a finding that the training providers caused those deaths.
The FMCSA is also launching a nationwide audit of third-party CDL skills testers and the state agencies responsible for overseeing them. The agency said CDL skills tests are required to be administered in English and pointed to more than 28,000 drivers placed out of service for English-language-proficiency violations since June 2025 as evidence of compliance problems.
As of February, an estimated 200,000 drivers currently hold non-domiciled CDLs, with the agency expecting approximately 194,000 of those drivers would ultimately become ineligible to retain the license under new rules that took effect in March.
The FMCSA directed states to audit existing credentials and revoke CDLs that were improperly issued, while properly issued licenses can remain valid until certain subsequent licensing transactions.
Additionally, the agency has used federal funding as leverage in some of its state-level enforcement efforts. The agency says it withheld $160 million from California in January and $73 million from New York in April after finding problems with non-domiciled CDL issuance and the states’ response to federal directives.
“Nobody cares more about highway safety than professional truck drivers and it is basic common sense that anyone operating an 80,000-pound commercial vehicle on public roadways should be properly trained, able to read critical road signs, follow emergency instructions, and communicate with law enforcement and first responders in English,” said Todd Spencer, president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association in a statement.
Spencer urged Congress to pass Dalilah’s Law, which would restrict any state from granting CDLs to certain noncitizens who don’t meet federal eligibility requirements. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee advanced the legislation in March, but it still needs to pass both chambers of Congress and be signed by the president.
The administration has also sought to expand the pool of U.S. drivers through its “Freedom Haulers” initiative, a federal campaign encouraging veterans to enter trucking.
