Trump delays deadline for Real ID licenses because of coronavirus

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — With the covid-19 pandemic further stifling the efforts of states to issue Real ID licenses, President Donald Trump on Monday said he would extend the Oct. 1 deadline for people to have the identification cards to board domestic flights in the United States.

Trump made the announcement during a news briefing on the nation’s response to the virus, as the number of confirmed cases across the United States now stands at more than 46,000. The resulting public health anxiety has left many people unwilling to visit Department of Motor Vehicles offices for fear of being infected.

“I’m also announcing that we’re postponing the deadline with Real ID requirements,” Trump said after making other comments during the White House event. “We will be announcing the new deadline very soon.”

The president, who offered no additional details, seemed to acknowledge the challenge with asking people to visit their local DMV “at a time that we’re asking Americans to maintain social distancing.”

Steven Gordon, director of the California DMV, said the announcement was welcome news as the agency has had to restrict visits to field offices for many people seeking drivers’ licenses and vehicle registrations.

“The California DMV is encouraged by the President’s remarks indicating that the federal government will extend the enforcement date for Real ID,” Gordon said in a written statement. “This would relieve the urgency for people to visit local DMV offices and bolster the state’s efforts to prevent the spread of covid-19. We look forward to learning more about the President’s direction and sharing that information with the public.”

Trump has been under pressure to postpone the Oct. 1 deadline from state officials across the country. The National Governors Association recently asked the Department of Homeland Security to extend the Oct. 1 deadline by at least one year.

“We believe an extension will allow all of us to focus our efforts on combatting the spread and severity of covid-19,” the governors said in a March 17 letter to acting Department Secretary Chad Wolf. “More time will also give Congress the ability to pass legislation that will update the 2005 Real ID Act and bring it up to speed with today’s technology.”

California lawmakers had already called for a delay in the Real ID deadline based on bureaucratic problems identified before covid-19 was labeled a global pandemic.

Assemblymen Jim Frazier, a Fairfield Democrat, and Vince Fong. a Bakersfield Republican, the chair and vice-chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, respectively, introduced a resolution asking for a delay.

“Over 7 million Californians have a Real ID and the Department of Motor Vehicles estimates that 16 million Californians will need one by October 1st of this year,” Frazier. “That means more than twice as many people need to come into a DMV field office between now and October, than in the entire previous two years combined.”