Half of the roughly 32,000 commercial driver’s licenses held by non-residents in New York carried expiration dates running years beyond the holders’ expired work authorizations, according to a federal audit that is now costing the state $74 million in highway grants, the New York Post reported.

The Trump administration announced Thursday it was pulling the funding after New York refused to revoke the licenses, and warned Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration that continued non-compliance could cost another $147 million.

The audit, conducted last year by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, found that New York DMV staff approved commercial driver’s licenses, or CDLs, for eight-year terms by default — even when applicants held work permits valid for far shorter periods. The findings are detailed in a letter signed by FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs and obtained by The Post.

“New York’s continued refusal to fix these failures undermines that mission, and we will not allow federal dollars to support a system that falls short of the law,” Barrs said.

The federal crackdown follows a series of high-profile accidents involving migrant truck drivers, including a Florida wreck that killed three last year. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy cast the funding cut as a safety measure.

“I promised the American people I would hold any state leader accountable for failing to keep them safe from unvetted, unqualified foreign drivers. I’m delivering on that promise today by refusing to fund Governor Hochul’s dangerous, anti-American policies,” Duffy said in a statement. “My message to New York’s far left leadership is clear: families must be prioritized on American roads.”

New York stopped issuing new CDLs to non-residents in February after a Trump administration order tightened federal rules. But the state argues it is not legally required to retroactively review licenses issued before the rule change — the core of the current dispute.

“FMCSA is deeply disappointed by DMV’s refusal to take the necessary corrective actions set forth in the Preliminary Determination,” the letter states. “The withholding of Federal funds is the direct and necessary consequence of New York’s own actions and its demonstrated disregard for Federal safety standards.”

Hochul’s office pushed back hard, framing the move as political retaliation against Democratic-run states.

“These charges are a baseless attempt to attack blue states, because as everyone knows New York simply follows federally-issued rules when issuing commercial drivers licenses, something that even the Trump Administration has acknowledged,” spokesperson Sean Butler told The Post. He noted that the FMCSA had raised no objections to the state’s CDL program during Trump’s first term.

“This continues a year long pattern of Secretary Duffy threatening to withhold money that keeps our roads, subways, and other infrastructure safe for New Yorkers. We will fight back, and once again we will win,” Butler said.

The DOT acknowledged in its letter that the DMV had provided records showing it properly reviewed lawful-residence documentation for five of six drivers previously flagged as non-compliant.

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