Uncle Sam Trained Them to Drive. Now Trump Is Putting Them to Work.
Big rigs share our highways every single day. Most drivers are careful and skilled.
But too many aren't even supposed to be behind the wheel in the first place. President Trump just did something about it.
Standing outside the White House on July 30, Trump launched a new program called Freedom Haulers.
The idea is simple. Take the men and women who already know how to drive heavy trucks, because they learned in the military, and get them into trucking jobs fast.
At the same time, keep cracking down on illegal and unqualified drivers who never should have gotten a commercial license.
“For many years, American highways and roadways have been terrorized by unqualified illegal aliens dangerously driving Big Rigs,” Trump said at the event, according to Florida Voice News.
That's not just tough talk. The numbers back it up.
Trump's team says more than 24,000 non-English-speaking drivers have already been pulled off the road.
States have canceled more than 28,000 commercial licenses that were handed out to people who shouldn't have had them.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said unqualified drivers caused at least 17 fatal crashes and 30 deaths last year alone.
Duffy didn't mince words either.
“Illegal immigrants who can't speak our language have no business getting behind the wheel of a big rig,” he said, according to The Center Square. “Veterans, who have already demonstrated the grit, discipline and skills to take on this vital task, are the right people for the job.”
Here's how the program actually works.
Veterans who drove heavy trucks in the military, think 2.5-ton trucks and bigger, can now skip the road test entirely when they get their commercial license.
That waiver window just doubled, from one year after leaving the service to two years.
Veterans without truck experience can get trained and licensed in about three to four weeks, often paid for through the GI Bill.
Thirty-four states are now part of this fast-track system, with Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland and Wyoming just joining.
Big trucking companies are stepping up too. Werner Enterprises alone pledged to hire 1,400 veterans and military spouses.
Here's a detail that matters close to home.
One quiet but real change in this plan lets active-duty troops test and license in whatever state they're stationed in, instead of dragging themselves back to their home state to do it.
That's good news for the many service members who call Nevada home while serving somewhere else. No more burning leave time and travel money just to get a piece of paper you earned through your service.
Nevada knows the value of a veteran with a work ethic.
Governor Lombardo, a National Guard and Army Reserve veteran himself, has made supporting Nevada's veterans a priority.
Trucking runs through Nevada's economy every day, up and down I-15 and across I-80, and the state could use more drivers who already know how to operate safely and follow the rules.
Critics will say this is political theater or that most of this authority already existed in some form. Fair enough, some of it builds on rules already on the books.
But building faster, wider on-ramps for veterans while closing the door on unsafe drivers isn't theater. It's common sense.
Veterans spent years proving they can be trusted with far more dangerous equipment than an 18-wheeler. Giving them a clear shot at a good job, while making sure our roads are safer, is the kind of policy that shouldn't need much debate at all.
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