Newsom Blinks in the Standoff over English Tests for Truckers

Governor Gavin Newsom of California has finally caved to the Trump administration’s requirement for states to enforce English language proficiency tests on truck drivers. What made the Democrat governor blink in his non-compliance with the federal guidelines is not goodwill or reason but millions of dollars in federal funding.

Last week, the New York Post reported (February 20) that Governor Newsom is finally reversing course on federal English language requirements for truck drivers in the state after ignoring the Trump administration’s policy for months. The Department of Transportation (DOT) withheld $40 million in federal funding to California over its liberal administration’s refusal to comply with the federal requirements for truck drivers to pass an English language proficiency test in order to drive a vehicle.

California was the only state that failed to enforce the DOT’s guidelines in this matter and the refusal indicated the political hostility that the state’s Democratic administration harbors toward conservative governments. In this case, however, Newsom chose to play a defiant leader for the left likely in preparation for a presidential run in 2028. And Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy knew exactly how to call Newsome’s bluff. Withholding $40 million of federal funds since October last year made Newsome return to his senses and agree to enforce the law.

The requirement for truck drivers to prove their ability to read and write English well enough to understand road signs and communicate in English during routine traffic stops comes in the interest of public safety. President Trump signed an executive order in April 2025 to mandate the English language proficiency test for truck drivers across the country.

But Newsom’s California refused to comply by the new law, seemingly in the interest of keeping the many non-English speaking residents, including illegal aliens in the state, in the driving seats of big vehicles. This literally cost Americans’ lives when an illegal alien from India, Harjinder Singh, with poor English comprehension caused a devastating crash in Florida and killed three people. Singh had been living in California illegally for several years and was issued a driving license for heavy vehicles in 2024 by the liberal-run state. It proved his license to kill.

The automotive news website Carscoops reported in September last year that nearly 10 thousand violations of the English proficiency requirements were recorded in 2025 with over 3,000 out-of-service orders issued to those in violation of the rules. Drawing a comparison with the Biden administration, the story wrote:

For example, in 2023, there were 8,801 violations related to “Driver cannot read or speak the English language sufficiently to respond to official inquiries,” and this spawned eight out-of-service orders.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ran an investigation into failures in complying by the proficiency rules for truck driving and found three states with significant numbers of such violations – California, Washington, and New Mexico. California back then had publicly stated that it would not follow the federal regulations in this regard. But money made Newsom go!