WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released a one-year summary on May 1, 2026, of actions taken since President Trump signed an executive order on April 28, 2025, directing increased enforcement of English language proficiency requirements, stronger CDL standards, and improvements to working conditions for truck drivers.
“The Trump Administration has hit major milestones in our efforts to rein in the trucking industry which has been allowed to operate like the Wild, Wild West for far too long,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. “We’ve brought back common sense rules of the road including requiring English language proficiency and valid working documents for foreign drivers. When state leaders failed to keep Americans on the road safe, we stepped in and held them accountable and we’re just getting started.”
“I’ve spent my life looking out for the folks on our highways, and I’m telling you, these drivers are the heartbeat of this country,” said FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs. “This administration is finally giving our truckers the support they’ve earned to get the job done and get home safe to their families.”
English Language Proficiency Enforcement
In May 2025, Secretary Duffy issued new guidance to enforce English Language Proficiency standards, rescinding an Obama-era policy that had relaxed enforcement. ELP was officially reincorporated in June 2025. FMCSA is implementing English-only testing for CDL applicants. FMCSA withheld $40 million from California in October 2025 for refusing to enforce ELP standards, after which California officially began enforcing ELP in January 2026. Since June 2025, more than 20,000 truck drivers have been placed out of service for failing to meet English proficiency requirements.
Cracking Down on Non-Domiciled CDLs
In June 2025, FMCSA launched a nationwide audit targeting states illegally issuing non-domiciled CDLs. The agency identified more than 30 states issuing non-compliant CDLs and sent official enforcement actions to 26 of them. FMCSA withheld $160 million from California in January 2026 and $73 million from New York in April 2026 for failing to revoke illegally issued licenses. FMCSA finalized a rule in February 2026 to stop unqualified foreign drivers from obtaining non-domiciled CDLs. More than 28,000 illegally issued licenses have been revoked nationwide. FMCSA mobilized more than 300 investigators across all 50 states in December 2025 to audit approximately 1,500 training providers. More than 6,800 unqualified training providers were removed from the FMCSA registry over the past year.
Supporting American Truck Drivers
FMCSA has invested more than $300 million in truck parking grants since April 2025. FMCSA and NHTSA withdrew the proposed speed limiter rulemaking for heavy vehicles, which the agencies determined created a safety hazard by forcing drivers to travel slower than surrounding traffic. FMCSA affirmed the Electronic Logging Device exemption for pre-2000 model year trucks and is proposing to eliminate more than 1,800 words of federal regulations, saving the industry millions annually.
Two new pilot programs are studying whether giving drivers more flexibility over their schedules improves safety and reduces fatigue. The Flexible Sleeper Berth program allows drivers to split their 10-hour off-duty period. The Split Duty Periods program allows drivers to pause their 14-hour on-duty clock for 30 minutes to three hours.
Additional actions include prohibiting motor carriers, shippers, receivers, and brokers from pressuring drivers to violate federal safety regulations, rolling out an upgraded DataQs process for correcting safety records, upgrading the NCCDB complaint system to a mobile-friendly platform with faster response times and new categories for noncompliant brokers and training providers, and launching a refreshed mobile-friendly driver resources webpage.
In March 2026, Secretary Duffy attended the Mid-America Trucking Show in Kentucky alongside more than 53,000 truckers from all 50 states.
📸 Image(s) used under fair use for news reporting.
