Trump DOT threatens to pull millions from Tim Walz's state, boots 3,000 shady CDL trainers to clean up trucker licensing mess

The Trump administration’s Department of Transportation is taking significant steps to address issues within America’s trucking industry to improve road safety and national security.

On Monday, DOT Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the department has revoked nearly 3,000 of the estimated 16,000 commercial driver’s license training providers listed in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Training Provider Registry. The TPR lists all training providers authorized to offer entry-level driver training for CDL students.

'Under Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, bad actors were able to game the system and let unqualified drivers flood our roadways.'

The impacted training providers were accused of “failing to equip trainees with the Trump administration’s standards of readiness,” a press release from the DOT revealed.

Reasons for removal included “falsifying or manipulating training data”; “neglecting to meet required curriculum standards, facility conditions, or instructor qualifications”; and “failing to maintain accurate, complete documentation or refusing to provide records during federal audits or investigations.”

The department issued warnings to another 4,500 training providers for potential non-compliance. Those entities have 30 days to respond and deliver evidence of compliance to avoid removal.

The DOT noted that this action aims to crack down on unqualified truck drivers and “corrupt operators.”

RELATED: Trump DOT hammers Gov. Shapiro, threatens to pull millions after state hands CDL to 'suspected terrorist' illegal alien trucker

Photo by GEORGE FREY/AFP via Getty Images

“If you are unwilling to follow the rules, you have no place training America’s commercial drivers. We will not tolerate negligence," said FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs.

“This administration is cracking down on every link in the illegal trucking chain,” Duffy stated. “Under Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, bad actors were able to game the system and let unqualified drivers flood our roadways. Their negligence endangered every family on America’s roadways, and it ends today.”

“Under President Trump, we are reigning [sic] in illegal and reckless practices that let poorly trained drivers get behind the wheel of semi-trucks and school buses,” Duffy added.

Also on Monday, the DOT revealed that it found one-third of Minnesota’s non-domiciled CDLs were issued illegally.

The department is giving the state 30 days to come into compliance and revoke illegally issued licenses. The DOT is prepared to withhold up to $30.4 million in federal highway funding if Minnesota fails to comply.

RELATED: Exclusive: DOT withholds $40M from blue state for flouting English requirements for truckers

Sean Duffy. Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Barrs accused Minnesota of “openly and blatantly defying our rules.”

“Under the Trump administration, states have two choices: Meet our standards or face the consequences. Following the law is not optional,” he declared.

“Our audit exposes yet another example of foreigners taking advantage of Minnesota services under Governor Walz’s watch,” Duffy said. “Minnesota failed to follow the law and illegally doled out trucking licenses to unsafe, unqualified noncitizens — endangering American families on the road.”

This latest warning follows similar action the DOT has previously taken against Pennsylvania. The department has already vowed to withhold federal funds from California after the state failed to comply with its regulations concerning CDL issuance.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety and the governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

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