California officials announced Wednesday that the state will revoke 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses issued to immigrants after discovering the licenses were set to expire beyond the period of their legal authorization to remain in the United States.

The move follows criticism from the Trump administration, which has repeatedly condemned California and other states for granting licenses to individuals without permanent legal status. The issue gained national attention in August, after a truck driver not authorized to be in the U.S. caused a fatal crash in Florida that killed three people.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the decision proves California acted improperly. “After weeks of claiming they did nothing wrong, Gavin Newsom and California have been caught red-handed,” Duffy said. “Now that we’ve exposed their lies, 17,000 illegally issued trucking licenses are being revoked. This is just the tip of the iceberg.”

However, Governor Gavin Newsom’s office disputed that characterization, saying every affected driver had a valid federal work authorization at the time their license was issued. Initially, the governor’s office did not specify why the revocations were necessary but later clarified that state law requires commercial driver’s licenses to expire no later than a person’s authorized stay in the U.S.

Newsom’s spokesperson, Brandon Richards, criticized Duffy’s remarks, calling them misleading. “Once again, Sean ‘Road Rules’ Duffy fails to share the truth — spreading easily disproven falsehoods in a sad and desperate attempt to please his dear leader,” Richards said.

Duffy has also threatened to withhold up to $200 million in federal funding from California if it fails to fully comply with federal licensing and immigration verification standards. Earlier this year, he revoked $40 million in funding, alleging the state wasn’t properly enforcing English-language proficiency requirements for truck drivers.

The Transportation Department has accused six states of issuing commercial licenses to noncitizens who should not have qualified, though California is the only one penalized so far due to a completed audit.

Under Duffy’s new federal rules, only three categories of visa holders — H-2A agricultural workers, H-2B nonagricultural workers, and E-2 business investors — will be eligible for commercial licenses. States must now verify each applicant’s immigration status using a federal database. These licenses will be valid for up to one year or until a visa expires, whichever comes first.

Of the 200,000 noncitizens currently holding commercial driver’s licenses nationwide, only about 10,000 would still qualify under the new standards. The rule is not retroactive, so existing drivers can keep their licenses until renewal, but the 17,000 California drivers identified in the review will lose theirs within 60 days.

California officials maintain they followed guidance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security when issuing the licenses in question, but Duffy insists the state failed to comply with federal law.