Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins is being criticized for promoting President Trump’s new “Freedom Haulers” campaign, a push to encourage U.S. military veterans to become commercial truck drivers.
After the Trump administration reportedly removed more than 24,000 CDL licenses from non-English-speaking drivers, Freedom Haulers was established to “fast track” commercial driver’s license (CDL) eligibility for veterans.
Trump said last week: “Any veteran with heavy vehicle experience from the military will now be eligible to skip redundant road tests to obtain a commercial driver’s license.” The President also said the program will help veterans with no truck driving experience to get trained and get licensed.
Collins, who reported that “one in 10 of our truck drivers across the country are veterans already,” supported Trump’s program on Fox News, and said: “These are some of the most highly skilled, highly trained, highly motivated, determined people we have in the workforce. Hey, why don’t we put them behind a truck? … they’re gonna do it safer, they’re gonna do it better.”
VA Secretary Doug Collins: “These are some of the most highly skilled, highly trained, highly motivated, determined people we have in the workforce. Hey, why don’t we put them behind a truck? … they’re gonna do it safer, they’re gonna do it better” pic.twitter.com/4uGNTsFCkO
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 3, 2026
Critics of the Trump administration say veterans are already eligible to obtain CDL licenses, and question the idea that more veterans want to become truck drivers, a profession with limited leadership opportunities and one that, in some cases, also requires long stretches away from home and family.
[NOTE: According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual pay for heavy and tractor-trailer drivers is $57,440.]
One X commenter replied: “Most people don’t want to be a truck driver because it’s unhealthy and it’s long hours by yourself in a very monotonous job. Veterans often want better jobs in better environments.”
Liberal influencer Joanne Carducci, a.k.a “JoJoFromJerz”, responded: “We took their healthcare and housing away, but hey — let’s put em to work long hauling where they get to spend their days and nights cramped behind the wheel and away from their families for [expletive] pay!! We LOVE our vets!!”
At the White House launch, Collins said: “Veterans [have] said one thing: when they raised their right hand, they pledged what others would not do. They said, ‘I will go and do what others will not do.’” The VA Secretary also said the GI Bill will cover up to 100% of commercial driver’s license tuition at state- and agency-approved schools for veterans.
[NOTE: According to June figures from the Department of Labor, the unemployment rate for all veterans was 4.1%, almost matching the comparable non-veteran rate at 4.0%. One major employer of military veterans is Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), where hiring has surged since 2025 and where one-third of the workforce are veterans.]