The Trump administration is threatening to withhold $75 million in federal funds from Pennsylvania, with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy accusing the state of illegally issuing commercial driver's licenses to ineligible immigrant truckers.

In a November 20 release, Duffy alleged that Pennsylvania's Department of Transportation had issued CDL licenses with expiration dates that extended beyond drivers' authorized stay dates in the U.S., and did not require drivers to provide proof of lawful presence before CDLs were issued. Duffy threatened to withhold funds from Pennsylvania if the state does not immediately revoke the alleged illegal licenses, and correct supposed "dangerous failures" in its CDL program.

In a written statement to SupplyChainBrain, PennDOT spokesperson Erin Waters-Trasatt asserted that the federal government did not find a single instance where a CDL had been issued to an ineligible driver, out of 150 cases that were audited by the Federal Motor Carrier's Association.

"All non-citizens who apply for driver’s licenses, including CDLs, must provide PennDOT with proof of identity, and must have their legal presence in this country verified through the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database – a database maintained by the United States Department of Homeland Security," Waters-Trasatt said. "PennDOT's top priority is safety on our roadways, and ensuring only those legally eligible are able to secure a license."

This comes in the wake of the Department of Homeland Security recently arresting an Uzbek national who had been issued a CDL by Pennsylvania, after it was discovered that he was wanted in his home country for belonging to a terrorist organization. However, Pennsylvania Governor Joshua Shapiro has since claimed that DHS's federal database indicated that the man was eligible for a CDL at the time the license was issued, according to the Associated Press.

Following a similar audit from the Trump administration, California announced plans in mid-November to revoke 17,000 CDLs with expiration dates that extended past authorized stay dates, after Duffy threatened to pull $160 million in federal highway funds.