A judge just blocked the administration of President Donald Trump from proceeding to implement its new rules regarding which immigrants can obtain a commercial driver's license. 

The Associated Press reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C., Circuit issued its ruling on Thursday.

The Trump administration is already vowing to fight back.

I will FIGHT this ruling.

The facts are clear: our national audit has exposed a complete breakdown in how states issue non-domiciled licenses — allowing thousands of dangerous drivers to operate trucks.

Our new rule CLOSES a loophole that let foreign drivers get a trucking… https://t.co/X6AmIXxGP8

— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 15, 2025

The ruling

First, let's take a look at the rule that the Trump administration is trying to implement.

Breitbart News reports:

Under the rules, migrants “who hold three specific classes of visas” would be allowed to obtain commercial driver’s licenses. Roughly 10,000 migrants, who have H-2a, H-2b, or E-2 visas, along with their commercial driver’s licenses, would “qualify for them,” according to the outlet.

The appellate court, though, is blocking the implementation of the rule because, according to the three-judge panel, the Trump administration did not follow proper protocol in drafting the rule.

The Associated Press reports:

The court said the federal government didn’t follow proper procedure in drafting the rule and failed to “articulate a satisfactory explanation for how the rule would promote safety.” The court said the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s own data shows that immigrants who hold these licenses account for roughly 5% of all commercial driver’s licenses but only about 0.2% of all fatal crashes, the court said.

The outlet emphasizes that "the court ruling focused on procedural issues," rather than the merits of the case.

"I will fight this"

After the release of the decision, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy took to social media to indicate that he and the Trump administration will be fighting this ruling.

"I will FIGHT this ruling," Duffy said.

He continued:

The facts are clear: our national audit has exposed a complete breakdown in how states issue non-domiciled licenses — allowing thousands of dangerous drivers to operate trucks. Our new rule CLOSES a loophole that let foreign drivers get a trucking license without proving they qualify. That’s absurd, and a DIRECT THREAT to the public. Just look at the recent crashes by these drivers, which killed a dozen of innocent Americans. This is a CRISIS that requires immediate action.  We won’t stop fighting to keep dangerous, unqualified truck drivers off the road.

Indeed, California is one example.

Breitbart News recently reported:

A bombshell audit from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reveals that California, under the direction of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), illegally issued thousands of Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) to dangerous foreign truck drivers. Duffy said the CDLs are now being revoked.