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A Democratic lawmaker who previously drafted impeachment articles against President Donald Trump disrupted a House Homeland Security subcommittee hearing Wednesday, accusing Republicans of using concerns about illegal immigrants holding commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) to distract from what he called Trump’s broader failures.
“This past weekend a convicted felon with bone spurs illegally attacked Iran, launching a protracted war of regime change,” Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., said during his opening remarks, arguing Republicans were diverting attention from congressional war powers.
The hearing — hosted by the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Accountability — focused on whether illegal immigrants are obtaining non-domicile CDLs and whether the Department of Homeland Security has properly coordinated with transportation authorities and ICE to enforce immigration laws tied to commercial trucking.
Officials from Oklahoma and Florida were invited to testify about illegal immigrants holding non-domicile CDL licenses, which they said has caused deadly crashes on the nation’s highways.
St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard del Toro was one of the witnesses, and he investigated a high-profile case in which an illegal immigrant from India with a California CDL allegedly killed a family on Florida’s Turnpike after failing to properly complete an illegal U-turn on the tollway.
As Chairman Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., gaveled the hearing in, Thanedar interrupted with a parliamentary inquiry, questioning why the Homeland Security panel — rather than Transportation — was holding the proceeding.
“Per Rule X, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has jurisdiction over transportation regulatory agencies, and roads and safety thereof,” Thanedar said.
“Any bills to improve highway safety would need to be considered and voted on by that committee.”
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The Detroiter added that he wanted to go on record about his objections to holding the hearing, saying it is really about “scapegoating immigrants” to deflect from issues with Trump’s handling of the economy, “which is running off the road.”
Brecheen appeared nonplussed, and reiterated that the committee remains a proper venue, and whether or not the House Transportation Committee could investigate similarly.
“While DOT is the primary federal regulator of CDLs, DHS plays a critical role in granting work authorizations and immigration benefits through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,” Brecheen said.
“ICE partnered with state highway patrol agencies in several states to conduct joint enforcement operations targeting illegal aliens operating commercial motor vehicles, resulting in significant arrests and taking unsafe drivers off the road.”
He noted one case in his home state where an illegal immigrant with a New York driver’s license that had a REAL ID endorsement and the name “No Name Given” was discovered and arrested along Interstate 40.
He observed the REAL-ID Act itself was signed by former President George W. Bush after 9/11 and that anyone authorized to haul hazardous materials could effectively be driving an 80,000-pound “chemical bomb” if they so chose.
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“This is absolutely under the jurisdiction of this committee,” he said.
After Brecheen’s own opening statement, Thanedar followed.
In 2025, Thanedar first drafted Articles of Impeachment against Trump, saying he is “unfit to serve” and “represents a clear and present danger to our nation’s Constitution.”
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Thanedar’s articles include usurpation of appropriations, abuse of trade powers, violation of First Amendment rights, creation of an unlawful office (DOGE), bribery and tyrannical overreach.
Thanedar was also the only Democrat to appear for the subcommittee hearing.
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