Trump Launches 'Freedom Haulers' Program to Move Veterans Into Trucking Jobs Amid CDL Crackdown
The Facts
- Trump announced the "Freedom Haulers" initiative at a White House event on Thursday, appearing with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins and trucking industry representatives.
- The initiative is a joint effort involving the White House and the Departments of Transportation, Veterans Affairs, Labor and Defense.
- Under the program, service members who drove heavy trucks for the military become automatically eligible for a commercial driver's license within two years of leaving service and can skip the normally required skills test.
- Service members still on active duty can attend commercial driving school during their final six months of service, and the GI Bill will cover the full cost of CDL training, including a housing allowance in some cases.
- Trump said the administration has removed more than 24,000 non-English-speaking drivers from behind the wheel and that states have canceled more than 28,000 commercial driver's licenses issued to people in the country illegally.
- Trump earlier signed an executive order making English proficiency a requirement for obtaining or keeping a commercial driver's license, which the administration cites as the basis for removing drivers from the road.
- Trump said commercial drivers in the country illegally caused at least 30 deaths in the past year, a figure he used to justify the enforcement push.
- Duffy promoted the campaign on social media with the caption "ILLEGALS OUT, VETERANS IN," and the administration framed the program as both a highway-safety measure and a veterans employment pipeline.
- The announcement drew criticism from commentators and social media users who questioned the program's premise and its effect on road safety and the trucking workforce.
Context
What specifically changes for veterans seeking a trucking license?
Veterans who operated heavy vehicles in the military can have their service experience count toward licensing rather than repeating equivalent training, and become automatically eligible for a CDL within two years of separation instead of a shorter prior window Fox News,Breitbart,Townhall. Those without military driving experience can enter an expedited training track, and the GI Bill will pay for CDL school Hill,PBS.org. Trump said non-driver veterans could be licensed after roughly three to four weeks of training Breitbart.
How many drivers has the licensing crackdown affected?
Trump said more than 24,000 non-English-speaking drivers have been taken off the road under the English proficiency policy and that states have canceled more than 28,000 commercial licenses the administration says were issued unlawfully Anadolu Ajansı,Economic Times,Resist the Mainstre…. PBS reported that tens of thousands of immigrant drivers lost their licenses in the crackdown this year PBS.org.
How large is the immigrant share of the US trucking workforce?
The New Republic, citing Associated Press figures, reported that about 20 percent of US truck drivers are immigrants, but only about 5 percent — roughly 200,000 — are in the category the administration's enforcement targets New Republic. The sources reviewed do not provide an independent estimate of how many veterans are expected to enter trucking under the new program.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- Driving a heavy truck in uniform is real competence the government already paid to certify — and that waiver was announced as one package with 24,000 drivers pulled off the road.
- Where Left and Right split
- A safety standard loosened for one group while being tightened on another, or veterans holding first claim on jobs their training already earned.
How left and right read it
Trump announced Thursday, flanked by four cabinet departments, that veterans who drove military trucks can skip the commercial skills test entirely. That waiver rides alongside an English-proficiency order the administration credits with pulling more than 24,000 drivers off the road. Duffy's slogan said the quiet part aloud. Judge highway safety by testing standards applied to everyone, not by which workers are easiest to blame — the non-domiciled licenses at issue are a thin slice of the immigrants driving America's trucks.
“About 20 percent of all truck drivers in the U.S. are immigrants according to the AP, but only five percent, or 200,000, have what are called non-domiciled licenses” — The New Republic
A soldier who drove heavy trucks in uniform now qualifies for a commercial license within two years of separation, skills test waived, with the GI Bill covering training in full. That is reciprocity, not a giveaway. Competence already proven at government expense should not be re-purchased at a licensing counter, and the men who earned it have the first claim on these jobs.
“Trump criticizes leftist policies that help grant commercial licenses to undocumented immigrants, claiming they cause deadly crashes on highways, and promises to quickly replace those unauthorized drivers with certified military veterans who deserve these high-paying jobs.” — Fox News
The receipts — 58 sources
Independent coverage (58)
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