License fight gives Gov. Newsom another high-profile showdown with Trump

Gov. Gavin Newsom closed out the year with another act of defiance toward President Trump — and another reminder to Democrats of how forcefully he’s pushed back against the administration as he eyes a possible presidential run.

His willingness to mock Mr. Trump and challenge his administration’s policy plans on everything from immigration to redistricting and offshore drilling has helped vault him to the front of the early Democratic jockeying for the party’s 2028 nomination.

“This is all setting up California as the frontline against Trump — until the governor decides to declare he is running for president in 2028,” said David McCaun, political science professor at Sonoma State University.

In the latest clash, the Newsom administration has sided with pro-immigrant groups, delaying a decision to comply with the Trump administration’s demand to revoke 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses issued to non-domiciled people whose permanent legal residence is outside the U.S.

The state risks losing $160 million in federal funding if it doesn’t comply.

The Newsom administration had planned to revoke the licenses by Jan. 5. But it pumped the brakes soon after the California DMV was hit with a lawsuit filed this week on behalf of 20,000 migrant truckers in the state.

Tensions escalated when the California Department of Motor Vehicles issued a 60‑day extension for non-domiciled commercial licenses scheduled for cancellation next week. The agency cited supply‑chain issues and said the extra time would help “find a solution that permits drivers to remain working to serve our communities.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy fired back, accusing Mr. Newsom of “lying” and insisting the deadline for revoking what he called “illegally issued, unvetted foreign trucker licenses” remains Jan. 5.

“California does not have an ’extension’ to keep breaking the law and putting Americans at risk on the roads,” Mr. Duffy said on social media. “Miss the deadline, Gavin, and the @USDOT will act — including cutting nearly $160 million in federal funding.”

California’s attorney general has sued the Trump administration more than 50 times this year and recently told the San Francisco Chronicle that in roughly 80% of those cases, courts have sided with the state, or the White House has backed off and agreed to settle.

In early December, the Newsom administration scored a high‑profile win when a federal judge ordered Mr. Trump to relinquish control of California National Guard troops he had deployed to Los Angeles to support immigration enforcement operations.

A month earlier, voters overwhelmingly backed Mr. Newsom’s plan to open the door to more Democrat‑friendly congressional districts — a blow to Trump’s redistricting push elsewhere to help House Republicans protect their slim majority in the 2026 midterms.

The latest dispute centers on the Trump administration’s effort to compel states to revoke truck drivers’ licenses that it says were issued to illegal immigrants in violation of updated federal rules that limit such licenses to certain visa holders.

The Trump administration tightened the rules following a nationwide commercial driver’s license audit that it launched after a driver who was in the U.S. illegally made a U-turn and caused a crash in Florida that killed three people.

The effort has shed light on a series of deadly crashes involving migrant drivers.

Federal officials have raised the stakes by warning states they could lose tens of millions of dollars in funding if they don’t comply.

Mr. Duffy has been the public face of the push, arguing it’s about improving safety and ensuring states follow the law.

At first, the Newsom administration signaled it would go along. In November, it announced plans to revoke the 17,000 licenses in early January — but said the action was tied to violations of existing state laws, not the Trump administration’s new rules.

Mr. Newsom also said the drivers in question held valid federal work authorizations.

Mr. Duffy disputed that, saying California had been “caught red‑handed” after “weeks of claiming they did nothing wrong.”

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said, vowing to keep pressing the state to prove it has removed every illegal immigrant from behind the wheel of semi-trucks and buses.