Appeals court grills California officials on challenge to noncitizen CDL crackdown

Jack BirleSeptember 11, 2026

California officials faced questioning from a federal appeals court panel regarding their efforts to challenge the Trump administration’s decision to withhold federal funding. The dispute stems from disagreements over the expiration date of commercial driver’s license standards for noncitizens.During the nearly two-hour hearing before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, lawyers representing the California Department of motor Vehicles and the U.S.Department of Transportation presented arguments. The Trump administration’s Department of Transportation had recently intensified efforts to crack down on issuing CDLs to noncitizens following multiple fatal crashes involving drivers who had obtained licenses despite not meeting federal standards.

California officials were grilled by a federal appeals court panel on Friday over their fight against the Trump administration for federal funding that the administration withheld due to a dispute over the expiration date of commercial driver’s license standards for noncitizens.

A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard arguments from lawyers representing the California Department of Motor Vehicles and the U.S. Department of Transportation, grilling both sides during the nearly two-hour hearing. The Transportation Department under the Trump administration has pursued a high-profile crackdown on CDLs for noncitizens after multiple fatal crashes involving noncitizens who were granted licenses despite not meeting federal standards.