A coalition of states won another legal round Thursday after a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from obtaining state-owned records containing personal information on millions of commercial driver’s license holders.

U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga issued the order after a hearing Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The ruling bars the federal government from obtaining the plaintiff states’ records from the Commercial Driver’s License Information System, or CDLIS, while the court weighs whether to issue a preliminary injunction.

It escalates an earlier administrative stay Trenga issued Aug. 13, which temporarily froze the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s efforts to obtain the records while the court considered the states’ emergency request.

That earlier order prohibited the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators from providing the requested information and also barred federal officials from retaliating against AAMVA or the plaintiff states over the dispute.

The legal fight concerns records tied to about 17 million commercial drivers nationwide and comes amid a broader Trump administration crackdown on commercial driver licensing and enforcement, underscoring how a dispute over a database can affect both state licensing systems and federal oversight efforts.

The coalition filed suit Aug. 13 against DOT, FMCSA and AAMVA, while a related legal action challenges a Department of Homeland Security subpoena seeking similar CDL information.

The states say the administration is unlawfully trying to obtain a state-owned database containing drivers’ names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and licensing records.

RELATED: Court freezes Trump administration bid for nationwide CDL database

Judge finds states likely to prevail

Thursday’s ruling is an early win for the states because a temporary restraining order requires the court to consider, among other factors, whether the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their underlying legal claims.

Trenga found that the states had shown a likelihood of success on several of their claims challenging FMCSA’s demand for a bulk transfer of CDLIS records.

The states argue that CDLIS was created as a state-to-state information-sharing system for commercial driver licensing, not as a federal repository for CDL holders’ personal information.

Congress established CDLIS in 1986 to help states determine whether commercial driver applicants already hold licenses elsewhere and to identify drivers who have been disqualified. The AAMVA, a nonprofit association representing state motor vehicle agencies, has operated CDLIS under contract with DOT since 1988.

FMCSA already has the ability to query information about individual drivers, but the states say the agency’s demand for the entire database would represent an unprecedented expansion of federal access.

FMCSA’s justification questioned

The dispute intensified after FMCSA demanded that AAMVA provide records for every driver in CDLIS going back five years.

FMCSA says it wants the information to carry out its statutory safety and regulatory responsibilities, including verifying CDL validity and conducting motor carrier safety assessments.

The agency also told AAMVA that the information could later be disclosed to other federal agencies when used for legitimate government functions.

The states counter that the administration has not adequately explained why FMCSA needs possession of the entire database when it already has mechanisms to obtain CDL information.

During Thursday’s hearing, Trenga questioned the government’s justification for obtaining the records and whether the bulk transfer was necessary for FMCSA to carry out its existing commercial vehicle safety responsibilities.

The court also raised concerns that the information could ultimately be used for immigration enforcement rather than primarily for FMCSA’s highway safety mission.

That issue has become more significant as the Trump administration has increased scrutiny of non-domiciled CDLs, commercial driver eligibility and state licensing programs.

Funding threat at center of dispute

The states’ lawsuit also challenges FMCSA’s alleged threat to terminate AAMVA’s federal grants and contracts if the organization refused to provide the information.

According to court filings, FMCSA officials met with AAMVA representatives on July 23 to discuss the demand and AAMVA’s concerns. The states allege FMCSA threatened to terminate AAMVA’s federal grants and contracts unless the organization agreed to produce about 17 million CDLIS pointer records.

AAMVA later told FMCSA it intended to provide the records around Aug. 17, while warning that the loss of federal contracts could significantly disrupt CDLIS and potentially interfere with states’ ability to issue or renew commercial driver’s licenses.

The federal government says AAMVA is contractually and legally required to provide the requested information to FMCSA and argues that the states cannot block AAMVA from complying with federal direction.

The states say they own the underlying information and provided it to CDLIS for limited licensing and highway-safety purposes.

TRO keeps CDLIS records out of federal hands

Under Thursday’s temporary restraining order, AAMVA cannot transfer the plaintiff states’ CDLIS records to DOT, FMCSA or other federal agencies while the litigation continues.

The order also bars federal officials from retaliating against AAMVA or the participating states for refusing to provide the information, including through threatened termination of federal contracts or funding.

The ruling does not resolve the underlying lawsuit or permanently prevent the federal government from obtaining CDLIS information.

Instead, it preserves the status quo while Trenga considers the states’ request for a preliminary injunction, which could keep the restrictions in place for a much longer period as the case proceeds.