Federal highway funds have often been used as a cudgel to make states do things Washington wants. Those of us old enough to remember the utterly ridiculous 55mph national speed limit (Sammy Hagar, this one's for you) have seen this in action. These funds, or the threat of their withdrawal, have also been used to coerce states into things like mandatory seatbelt and motorcycle helmet laws.
Now, though, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has some sharp words for the state of Pennsylvania, which has been issuing commercial driver's licenses to illegal aliens, and he's preparing to once more wield that highway-fund cudgel. In this case, that's a good thing; there is a matter of public safety here, after all, and since driver's licenses are valid nationwide, this is something that Washington needs to be involved in.
SCOOP: The Trump administration is taking on yet another blue state for issuing commercial driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) November 20, 2025
Transportation @SecDuffy has threatened to withhold $75 million in federal funding from Pennsylvania if the state refuses to stop handing out… pic.twitter.com/Xaw0LIUMeV
The post continues:
Transportation @SecDuffy has threatened to withhold $75 million in federal funding from Pennsylvania if the state refuses to stop handing out trucking licenses to illegal immigrant drivers, The Daily Wire has learned.
It comes after an Uzbek illegal immigrant who had an international warrant for terrorist activity was pulled over in Kansas and discovered to have a Pennsylvania commercial driver’s license.
Duffy highlighted his concerns in a letter sent to Democratic Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro on Wednesday, claiming 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 and failed “to require any proof of lawful presence before issuing a CDL [commercial driver’s license].”
This is a good thing.
Read More: Here We Go Again: ICE Arrests Biden-Released Illegal Alien Trucker Accused of Terrorist Ties
Sean Duffy Condemns Court's Ruling on Illegal Immigrant CDLs, Vows 'Not to 'Take This Lying Down'
$75 million is a lot of money. That's a lot of money that could be fixing Pennsylvania's roads, the highways, and byways. But as we've seen in several recent, high-profile incidents, this practice, issuing CDLs not only to illegal immigrants but even some illegals who are not proficient (or even conversant) in spoken and written English, is bordering on criminal. It's endangering every other driver on the road. It's unforgivable.
It's hard to adequately describe how stupid Pennsylvania is being in doing this. I've driven in foreign countries, but mostly in English-speaking ones; Canada and Ireland, for example. But driving in Germany was a challenge. My acquaintance with written German is distinctly of the nodding variety. I can manage a very basic conversation in Deutsche if the person I'm talking to doesn't speak too quickly, and fortunately, German road signs tend to be pretty intuitive.
But I wasn't driving a huge 18-wheeler.
Secretary Duffy should, in this and in all similar instances, wield that old highway-funds cudgel with abandon. This insane practice is putting American drivers in real peril, so blue-state politicians can polish their progressive bona fides. It has to stop, and it has to stop now.
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