AG Jennings sues Trump Administration to block unlawful demand for CDL drivers’ personal information

Attorney General Kathy Jennings today joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in filing two lawsuits against the Trump Administration to block an attempt to access State-owned records containing the sensitive personal information of 17 million drivers, and threatening to terminate more than $10 million in federal funding to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) if it refuses.

"The president is jeopardizing millions of working class Americans' privacy in service of an unrelated immigration agenda," said Attorney General Kathy Jennings. "The law is designed to protect motorists' safety but it's also designed to protect licensees' privacy-even from the President. We all deserve that protection. We will continue to block this President's attempts to violate the law and the separation of powers."

"Instead of addressing the affordability crisis facing American families, President Trump is once again trying to force states to hand over sensitive personal information about law-abiding residents," said Governor Matt Meyer. "Attorney General Jennings and I will not stand by while Washington tramples privacy rights and exceeds its lawful authority. We will continue defending the freedoms and constitutional protections Delawareans deserve."

Jennings and the coalition filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which is an administration of the DOT and AAMVA, along with a second, related lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The lawsuits claim the DOT, FMCSA and DHS are violating multiple federal privacy laws by secretly setting up their own database with records extorted from AAMVA, with no guardrails on the use or sharing of drivers' Social Security numbers and other personal information, and no notice to the public. The lawsuit also alleges that the demand violates federal law 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.

In 1986, Congress established the Commercial Driver's License Information System (CDLIS) to provide states an efficient means of sharing information about commercial driver's license (CDL) applicants and determining if the applicant is licensed in another state. Since 1988, the DOT has contracted with AAMVA, a private nonprofit organization, to operate CDLIS for the benefit of the states.

To approve a CDL application, states validate the driver's identity, medical fitness, immigration status and each applicant's licensing and driving history in any state where the driver could have been licensed. This important public safety work is the responsibility of the states, not the federal government. Once a license is issued, states maintain a record in CDLIS of each driver that includes personally identifiable information such as the driver's name, date of birth, Social Security number, driver's license number and the name of state that provided the record.

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 the states to seek an emergency order to prevent the data from being turned over.

Delaware has mounted several challenges against the Trump administration's attempts to unlawfully use Americans' personal data for undisclosed purposes, including immigration enforcement. Last week AG Jennings sued to block the Administration's efforts to collect sensitive information of participants in the Temporary Assistance For Needy Families (TANF) program.

Through the spring of 2026, Gov. Meyer and AG Jennings repeatedly went to court to fight a federal subpoena of sensitive employment information about local businesses, targeting those with Spanish language names, and their employees.

In August 2025, AG Jennings successfully sued to stop Medicaid's efforts to share confidential health data with the Department of Homeland Security for immigration enforcement purposes.

In March 2026, Jennings successfully sued the Trump Administration for demanding that higher education institutions provide detailed data on students that would jeopardize their privacy.

In July 2025, AG Jennings successfully sued to block a federal attempt to collect sensitive information of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries.

In July 2025, AG Jennings successfully sued to stop Elon Musk's so-called "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) from unauthorized access to sensitive Treasury Department records.

AG Jennings twice led, in August and November of 2025, successful litigation to block the Trump Administration's efforts to cut $20 million in victim assistance funds unless the state implemented unrelated and unenforceable immigration restrictions.

AG Jennings has preserved more than $300 million in federal funds to Delaware by contesting other immigration-based conditions on federal funds for transportation, education, emergency management, and domestic violence shelters.