Aaron Ford, Democratic campaigner for Nevada Governor, speaks to the property n the greeting pursuing the superior predetermination Wed. June 10, 2026. Photo by: Christopher DeVargas
By Las Vegas Sun Staff (contact)
Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026 | 3 p.m.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford joined a conjugation of 21 attorneys wide and the authorities of Pennsylvania contiguous successful filing 2 lawsuits against the Trump medication implicit demands for a database containing the idiosyncratic accusation of 17 cardinal drivers, his bureau said successful a quality release.
The lawsuits allege the medication threatened to withhold much than $10 cardinal successful national backing from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, oregon AAMVA, if the enactment refused to crook implicit the data.
Ford and the conjugation filed 1 suit against the U.S. Department of Transportation and its Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, arsenic good arsenic AAMVA. A 2nd suit was filed against the Department of Homeland Security.
The lawsuits assertion the 3 national agencies violated aggregate national privateness laws by secretly gathering their ain database from AAMVA’s records, with nary guardrails connected the information and nary nationalist notice.
The suits besides allege the request violates the Administrative Procedure Act, arguing the national authorities has nary morganatic request to instrumentality implicit the database of authorities records and failed to consult the states earlier making the change.
“People person a close to privateness and to cognize their delicate idiosyncratic accusation is not being utilized arsenic a bargaining spot implicit national funding,” Ford said successful a statement. “The Trump medication cannot strong-arm states into turning implicit millions of drivers’ backstage accusation without justification oregon capable safeguards. My bureau is taking enactment to support Nevadans’ privateness and halt this unlawful national overreach.”
Congress established the Commercial Driver’s License Information System, known arsenic CDLIS, successful 1986 to springiness states an businesslike mode to stock accusation astir commercialized driver’s licence applicants and find whether an applicant is licensed successful different state. The Department of Transportation has contracted with AAMVA, a backstage nonprofit organization, to run CDLIS connected behalf of the states since 1988.
According to the lawsuits, states are liable for validating a driver’s identity, aesculapian fitness, migration presumption and licensing and driving past successful immoderate authorities wherever the operator whitethorn person been licensed earlier approving a commercialized driver’s licence application. Once a licence is issued, states support a grounds successful CDLIS for each operator that includes idiosyncratic accusation specified arsenic the driver’s name, day of birth, Social Security number, driver’s licence fig and the sanction of the authorities that provided the record.
The lawsuits authorities that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sent AAMVA a missive demanding information for each operator successful CDLIS dating backmost 5 years.
When AAMVA raised concerns astir the directive, the bureau threatened to terminate each of AAMVA’s national grants and contracts, according to the lawsuits. Facing a menace that could unopen down CDLIS entirely, AAMVA told the states it would comply with the national demand, prompting Ford and the conjugation to question an exigency bid to artifact the information from being turned over.
Joining Ford successful filing the lawsuits are the attorneys wide of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, on with the authorities of Pennsylvania.
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