Trump Puts American Veterans Behind The Wheel
President Donald Trump has spent the past year clearing dangerous and improperly licensed foreign truck drivers from American highways. His administration’s next move puts veterans in the driver’s seat.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Friday launched "Freedom Haulers," a campaign to get former service members into well-paying trucking careers. The Department of Transportation is leading the effort alongside the departments of Veterans Affairs, War, and Labor.
Duffy introduced the campaign with a video aimed directly at veterans who drove heavy vehicles during their military service. It's blunt, patriotic, and unapologetic about who the Trump administration wants behind the wheel.
The ad opens with a question that cuts right to it:
“Are you a veteran and not an illegal alien? Did you drive things like this or this? Maybe even this? You drove the toughest roads on Earth, defending our freedoms. Stick around. Why not get paid to drive on ours? How about six figures? Become a Freedom Hauler. Did you ever think about that?”
Its closing message is just as direct: "What are you waiting for? Your next mission deploys now."
The campaign gives veterans a path to use what they already know. Veterans with two years of experience operating heavy military vehicles can skip the CDL driving test through the FMCSA's Military Skills Test Waiver Program. More than 40,000 service members and veterans have already used the waiver, which is available in every state.
Veterans must still meet the other requirements for a commercial driver’s license, including the written knowledge test. Eligible veterans with at least 36 months of service can also use their GI Bill benefits for CDL training, with the Veterans Affairs tuition cap typically covering the full cost at approved colleges and technical schools.
Duffy credited Trump with creating an opening for veterans by cleaning up a trucking system that had allowed unqualified foreign drivers onto American roads:
“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we are removing more and more dangerous foreign drivers off our roads every day and restoring the integrity of America’s trucking industry. Our new Freedom Haulers campaign will help build on these successes and get the word out that there’s never been a better time for America’s former service members to get behind the wheel of a big rig.”
Duffy added that trucking demands the same precision, independence, and discipline veterans built in uniform, and that keeping farmers operating, stores stocked, and fuel moving is its own kind of mission.
Freedom Haulers follows the administration’s crackdown on fraud, sham CDL schools, drivers who cannot demonstrate English proficiency, and licenses issued without proper verification. Approximately 26,000 drivers have been pulled off the road for failing English-language requirements, while another 30,000 commercial licenses were canceled after being issued illegally.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins said the administration is placing its trust where it belongs:
“President Trump’s Freedom Haulers initiative is another victory for common sense. Instead of putting dangerous illegal immigrants on the road, we should be putting trust in our Veterans who have the discipline, determination and work ethic to succeed in this rewarding career path. VA already helps thousands of Veterans make this transition every year, and we stand ready to help thousands more.”
The Trump administration’s tighter licensing rule was driven by more than paperwork violations. The Transportation Department said non-domiciled commercial drivers who would be ineligible under the new standards were involved in at least 17 fatal crashes that killed 30 people in 2025.
Trump is pairing that enforcement with an opportunity for Americans who have already demonstrated that they can handle heavy equipment under pressure. Freedom Haulers offers veterans another mission, a civilian career, and a chance to keep serving the country they defended.
These are people who kept their cool under fire, followed orders, and brought everyone home. They know what it means to take responsibility for a mission. That is exactly what America's roads and supply chains need, not a loophole, not a workaround, but the real thing.
That is a far better investment than preserving illegally issued licenses for drivers who never should have been on the road.
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