Appeals court grills California officials over their challenge to noncitizen CDL crackdown

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.