Consumers Affected
17,000,000
New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 22 attorneys general plus Pennsylvania secured a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from seizing the names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers of 17 million commercial drivers nationwide, including nearly 500,000 New Yorkers. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted the TRO, preventing the federal government from accessing the data or cutting off access to the critical database.
The court granted a temporary restraining order preventing the federal government from seizing commercial drivers' personal records or cutting off access to the critical database, pending further proceedings.
In-house teams should review their data processing agreements, privacy policies, and vendor agreements for clauses addressing government data requests, subpoenas, and law enforcement access to personal information. They should verify that contracts with database providers and data custodians include robust notice requirements, data minimization obligations, and legal challenge provisions when government entities seek bulk records. Companies handling driver records or other regulated personal data should also review their data sharing agreements to ensure they include appropriate safeguards, purpose limitations, and procedures for responding to government demands, as well as indemnification and liability provisions that address unauthorized data access or seizure.
Entity
U.S. Department of Transportation
Industry
OtherOfficial Press Release
https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2026/attorney-general-james-halts-trump-administrations-attempt-seize-millions
illinois et al v u.s. department of transportation et al tro
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/court-filings/illinois-et-al-v-u.s.-department-of-transportation-et-al-tro-2026.pdf
New York Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://ag.ny.gov/press-releases
"U.S. Department of Transportation"
"17 million commercial drivers nationwide"
"names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers"
"Attorney General James and 21 other attorneys general, as well as the state of Pennsylvania"
"temporary restraining order"
"nearly 500,000 New Yorkers"
New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 21 other attorneys general and Pennsylvania sued the U.S. Department of Transportation and Department of Homeland Security to block the federal government from seizing the personal data of 17 million commercial drivers from the CDLIS database. The coalition argues the demands violate federal privacy laws and the Constitution, and seeks an injunction to prevent the data transfer.
Attorney General Phil Weiser joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general and Pennsylvania in filing two lawsuits against the Trump administration for demanding a database of state-owned records containing sensitive personal information of 17 million commercial drivers. The lawsuits allege violations of federal privacy laws and the Administrative Procedure Act, and seek an emergency order to prevent the data from being turned over by the August 17 deadline.
A coalition of 21 state attorneys general and Pennsylvania filed lawsuits against the Trump Administration, DOT, FMCSA, DHS, and AAMVA to prevent the unlawful demand for a database containing personal information of 17 million commercial driver's license holders. The lawsuits allege violations of federal privacy laws and the Administrative Procedure Act, and seek an emergency order to block the data transfer.
A coalition of 21 attorneys general and the Governor of Pennsylvania filed lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Transportation, FMCSA, DHS, and AAMVA to prevent the federal government from obtaining a database of personal information of 17 million commercial driver's license holders. The lawsuits allege the federal government violated federal privacy laws and the Administrative Procedure Act by demanding the data without notice or guardrails, and threatening to withhold $10 million in federal funding if AAMVA refused.
Attorney General Tong and a coalition of 21 attorneys general and Pennsylvania filed lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Transportation, FMCSA, and DHS to block demands for the personal information of 17 million CDL drivers. The lawsuits allege violations of federal privacy laws and the Administrative Procedure Act, and seek an emergency order to prevent the data transfer.
Attorney General Dan Rayfield and a coalition of 21 attorneys general and Pennsylvania filed lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Transportation, FMCSA, and AAMVA to block demands for a database containing personal information of 17 million commercial drivers. The federal government threatened to withhold $10 million in funding unless the data was turned over, which the coalition argues violates privacy law.