“The Trump administration is attempting to seize confidential state records without any lawful justification,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said. “New Yorkers provide their personal information to the state with the expectation that it will be protected, not handed over to anyone who demands it.”
A coalition of attorneys general from 22 states have filed a lawsuit against the federal government, claiming that the Trump administration is attempting to seize the personal information of millions of commercial drivers.
In a press release, New York Attorney General Letitia James said that the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Transportation have repeatedly requested access to a “nationwide database” of persons holding commercial driving licenses. This database contains information such as drivers’ full names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers.
James, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said that the Trump administration has since threatened to withhold federal funding from states that refuse to comply with its request.
“The Trump administration is attempting to seize confidential state records without any lawful justification,” James said. “New Yorkers provide their personal information to the state with the expectation that it will be protected, not handed over to anyone who demands it.”
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones, another co-plaintiff, notes that Congress created the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS) in 1986 to provide states with an “efficient means” to share information about commercial driving applicants and licensing. The database is maintained, in part, by the non-profit American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.
“Despite the states owning the personal data stored in CDLIS, FMCSA sent a letter to AAMVA, making the unprecedented demand that AAMVA turn over data for every driver in CDLIS going back five years. When AAMVA voiced its concerns about the new directive, FMCSA made an explicit threat to terminate all of AAMVA’s federal grants and contracts. Faced with that threat, which could shut down CDLIS altogether, AAMVA told the states it would comply with the federal government’s demand, requiring Attorney General Jones and the coalition to seek an emergency order to prevent the data from being turned over,” Jones’s office said in a press release.
The lawsuit charges the federal government with attempting to circumvent holdout states by “secretly setting up [its] own database with records extorted from” the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, “with no guardrails on the use or sharing of drivers’ Social Security numbers and other personal information, and no notice to the public.”
The attorneys general also accuse the Trump administration of violating the Administrative Procedure Act “because the federal government has no legitimate need to take over this database of state records, and it failed to consult the states before making this drastic change.”
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