Delaware Sues Trump Administration Over Driver Data

State of DE - Delaware's Attorney General, Kathy Jennings, is suing the Trump Administration to stop it from taking personal information on 17 million drivers with commercial drivers licenses. Jennings joined 21 other attorneys general and the state of Pennsylvania in the lawsuits.

The lawsuits target the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and the Department of Homeland Security. The coalition says these agencies are trying to force a private group called AAMVA to hand over sensitive driver records or lose more than 10 million dollars in federal funding.

AAMVA runs a system called CDLIS, short for Commercial Driver's License Information System. States have used CDLIS since the 1980s to share information about commercial driver's license holders and check their records in other states.

The records include personal details like a driver's name, date of birth, Social Security number, and driver's license number. States own this data, but the lawsuits claim the federal government is trying to take it over without asking for permission or giving the public any notice.

According to the lawsuits, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sent AAMVA a letter demanding data on every driver in the system going back five years. When AAMVA raised concerns, the agency threatened to cut off all of its federal grants and contracts.

AAMVA told states it would comply with the demand. That forced the states to ask a court for an emergency order to stop the data from being handed over.

Jennings claims the request has nothing to do with driver safety stating, "The president is jeopardizing millions of working class Americans' privacy in service of an unrelated immigration agenda," said 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."

Governor Matt Meyer joined Jennings in criticizing the demand stating, "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 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."

This is not the first time Jennings has pushed back against the Trump Administration over data privacy. Last week, she sued to block an attempt to collect information on families in Delaware's Temporary Assistance For Needy Families program.

Jennings has also gone to court to stop a federal subpoena targeting businesses with Spanish language names, to block the sharing of Medicaid data with immigration officials, and to stop colleges from being forced to hand over student data. She has fought similar battles over SNAP benefits, Treasury Department records, and victim assistance funding.

In total, Jennings says she has preserved more than 300 million dollars in federal funding for Delaware by challenging conditions the administration tried to place on money for transportation, education, emergency management, and domestic violence shelters.

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