U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a new initiative to expand employment opportunities for military veterans in the trucking industry as his administration continues enforcing stricter commercial driving regulations.
The initiative, known as Freedom Haulers, is designed to recruit former service members into the commercial trucking workforce while building on the administration’s enforcement of English-language proficiency requirements and commercial driver’s licence (CDL) regulations.
Speaking on the programme, Trump said thousands of commercial drivers had already been removed from American roads as part of the administration’s enforcement efforts.
“We’ve already removed more than 24,000 non-English speakers from behind the wheel. We’ve also forced states to cancel more than 28,000 commercial driver’s licenses unlawfully issued to illegal aliens,” Trump said.
The president said the administration intends to replace those drivers with qualified American veterans, particularly individuals who operated heavy military vehicles during their service.
“But they are driving all over American roadways, and we’re going to replace them with proud American veterans,” Trump said.
He added that veterans with experience operating heavy military trucks would be able to transition more easily into the commercial trucking industry.
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“We’re going to take our veterans… Any American who has driven a heavy truck for our military will automatically be eligible for a commercial driver’s license,” he said.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Freedom Haulers campaign expands existing programmes that allow eligible veterans with recent military heavy-vehicle driving experience to obtain a CDL without taking the traditional road skills test. The initiative also provides information on training opportunities and benefits available through the GI Bill for veterans seeking careers in commercial trucking.
The White House said the programme forms part of a broader effort to improve highway safety, strengthen compliance with commercial driving regulations and help former military personnel secure well-paying civilian employment.
