{"success":true,"data":{"id":"58ed9415-4a8b-48df-bb26-98ae114a3cdb","title":"Trump urges veterans to become truck drivers to replace 56,000 truckers who lost their licenses","summary":"Truck drivers currently make an average of $70,000 a year as the truck market has tightened up and rates have increased","content":"US Edition Change\n\nSupport Now\n\n*   News[News](https://www.independent.co.uk/us)\n\n*   Sports[Sports](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport)\n\n*   Culture[Culture](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment)\n\n*   Lifestyle[Lifestyle](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style)\n\n*   Money[Money](https://www.independent.co.uk/us/money)\n\n*   Travel[Travel](https://www.independent.co.uk/us/travel)\n\n*   Premium[Premium](https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium)\n\n*   Climate[Climate](https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change)\n\nMore\n\nMore\n\n### Thank you for registering\n\nPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in\n\n# Trump urges veterans to become truck drivers to replace 56,000 truckers who lost their licenses\n\n## Truck drivers currently make an average of $70,000 a year as the truck market has tightened up and rates have increased\n\n[Josh Funk](https://www.independent.co.uk/author/josh-funk)Saturday 25 July 2026 11:59 BST\n\n*   Copy link  \n*   Bookmark  \n\n## Bookmark popover\n\nRemoved from bookmarks\n\nClose popover\n\nClose\n\nPowered By\n\n10 Sec\n\n4\n\n00\n\nTrump: ‘I’m running for a fourth term as President of the United States’\n\nNext video in\n\nNext\n\nKEEP WATCHING\n\n### Your support helps us to tell the story\n\nFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.\n\nAt such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.\n\nThe Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.\n\n**Your support makes all the difference.**\n\nThe Trump administration wants [soldiers](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/soldiers) to consider becoming truck drivers when they leave the [military](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/military) to help replace the tens of thousands of immigrant drivers who lost their licenses in a crackdown this year.\n\nA new campaign launched Friday will promote programs that let [veterans](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/veterans) who recently drove large military vehicles skip the required skills test for a commercial driver’s license. Other soldiers can attend a commercial driving school during their last six months of active duty. The GI Bill will also pay for 100% of commercial driver's license training and for some people even pay a housing allowance while they are in school.\n\nThe campaign will be part of a broader interagency effort to help veterans find good civilian jobs that the [White House](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/white-house) plans to announce on Monday.\n\nThe Transportation Department began enforcing existing English language requirements for [truckers](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/truckers) last summer. Concerns about truck driver qualifications then took on more urgency after an August crash in Florida, when a truck driver performed an illegal U-turn that killed three people. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that driver, who is from India, should never have been licensed in the first place.\n\nAudits conducted in every state uncovered numerous non-domiciled commercial driver's licenses that remained valid long after an immigrant's work permits had expired or were issued without properly verifying their citizenship status.\n\nThe Transportation Department plans to work with the Pentagon and Departments of Veterans Affairs and Labor to promote the career field as a good job that offers independence to veterans who don't want a desk job in civilian life(Getty Images)\n\nSince then, about 26,000 drivers have been pulled off the road for failing to demonstrate English proficiency, and the Transportation Department said 30,000 commercial licenses were canceled because they were issued illegally. The federal government has tried to withhold millions of dollars of highway funds from California and New York for failing to comply and revoke thousands more licenses, but that has wound up in court. Several other states — including Pennsylvania, Minnesota and North Carolina — have been warned they are at risk of losing funding.\n\n“We are removing more and more dangerous foreign drivers off our roads every day and restoring the integrity of America’s trucking industry,” Duffy said. “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.”\n\n## The federal government has been actively enforcing CDL rules\n\nThe trucking industry has applauded the administration's effort to get unqualified drivers off the road and close down sham CDL schools, and companies praised this new effort to get more veterans behind the wheel.\n\n“Veterans make up 15% of our workforce and bring the highest levels of leadership, discipline and technical skills that are essential to our success. We are dedicated to providing them with meaningful careers and a supportive environment where they can thrive,\" said Derek Leathers, who is chairman and CEO of Werner Enterprises.\n\nCole Stevens, who is chief strategy officer at the trucking company that bears his last name, said veterans' backgrounds make them great drivers.\n\n“Some of the best drivers and industry leaders I’ve had the privilege of working with are military veterans,\" Stevens said. “Their integrity, accountability, and mission-first mindset make them an incredible asset.”\n\nIn addition to enforcing existing restrictions, the government announced plans to restrict which immigrants can qualify for a non-domiciled commercial driver's license and require them to take the test in English, but those rules are being challenged in court.\n\nThe only immigrant drivers who can get a license under the new rules are holders of an H-2A, H-2A or E-2 visa. H-2A is for temporary agricultural workers while H-2B is for temporary nonagricultural workers, and E-2 is for people who make substantial investments in a U.S. business.\n\nImmigrants account for about 20% of all truck drivers, but all of these non-domiciled licenses for immigrants represent only about 5% of all commercial driver’s licenses, or about 200,000 drivers.\n\nSome immigrant groups have said they believe that many drivers are being unfairly targeted. The spotlight has been on Sikh truckers because the driver in the Florida crash and the driver in another fatal crash in California in October are both Sikh.\n\n## Truck driving may appeal to veterans\n\nThe Transportation Department plans to work with the Pentagon and Departments of Veterans Affairs and Labor to promote the career field as a good job that offers independence to veterans who don't want a desk job in civilian life.\n\nVeterans still have to study the rules and pass the written test for a commercial driver's license, but soldiers who recently drove big military vehicles over 2.5 tons (2.25 metric tons) can skip the skills test. The government said more than 40,000 veterans have already used that program, which can enable them to get on the road within a few weeks.\n\nThe Transportation Department said that truck drivers currently make an average of $70,000 a year, as the truck market has tightened up and rates have increased.\n\nVeterans who served for at least three years can also use the money from the GI Bill program to pay for CDL training, and they might even qualify for a housing stipend.\n\n### More about\n\n### Most popular\n\n### Popular videos\n\n### Bulletin","source_name":"The Independent","source_url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-truck-drivers-veterans-military-licenses-cdl-b3021433.html","url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-truck-drivers-veterans-military-licenses-cdl-b3021433.html","author":"Josh Funk","author_name":"Josh Funk","published_at":"2026-07-25T10:59:58.000Z","publication_date":"2026-07-25T10:59:58.000Z","image_url":"https://static.independent.co.uk/2026/07/24/20/03/GettyImages-2273502103.jpg","category":"politics","topic":"politics","tags":[],"political_bias":null,"bias_score":null,"confidence_score":null,"credibility_score":null,"factual_quality":null,"reading_time":6,"word_count":1190,"view_count":0,"breaking":false,"breaking_news":false,"ai_analysis":null,"fact_check_status":"unverified","archive_status":"hot","language":null}}