The Trump administration has made it very hard for commercial truck drivers to speak English, which has led to almost 10,000 drivers being taken off U.S. highways. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that 9,500 truck drivers who didn’t pass required English tests were taken off the road to make it safer. This crackdown is a result of President Trump’s executive orders that made English the national language and required truckers to follow the rules.
In March and April 2025, Trump signed executive orders that took away the leniency that Obama had given to drivers who weren’t good enough to drive but didn’t have to be removed right away. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration now says that drivers who can’t read or speak English well enough to understand road signs and signals can’t drive. Texas and Wyoming had the most disqualifications since enforcement started in late June.
This policy makes things worse for trucking companies that are already having trouble finding workers because freight volumes are going down and costs are going up. The administration says that the rise in crime is due to Biden-era immigration policies. They point to a deadly crash in Florida involving a driver who didn’t speak English and had a California-issued license. Duffy has kept $40 million in federal money from California because it didn’t follow the rules, and he has threatened to do the same to other states.
Even though some things were taken away, Duffy announced a “pro-trucker package” that included $275 million for more truck parking, fewer rules, and better resources to help qualified drivers. He stressed on X that “America First = Safety First,” framing the measures as keeping families safe on the roads. More than 7,000 drivers were out of work by November, and the number was rising quickly.
