Former President Donald Trump, a vocal supporter of the trucking industry while he was in Washington – particularly owner-operators – has picked a running mate who is on the record for supporting two of truck drivers’ top legislative priorities.
Ohio Republican Senator J.D. Vance, who was named by Trump as his pick for vice president on Monday at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, is a co-sponsor of the Truck Parking Improvement Act, which dedicates $755 million in grant money over the next three years specifically for expanding truck parking.
He is also a cosponsor of the DRIVE Act, which would prohibit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from requiring trucks to be equipped with a speed limiting device set to a maximum speed, a highly controversial rulemaking that FMCSA has scheduled for May 2025.
Both bills represent major lobbying efforts by the Owner-Operator Independent Truck Drivers Association.
“We’re a non-partisan organization, but unabashedly pro-trucker,” OOIDA spokesman George O’Connor told FreightWaves. “We’ll work with anyone and everyone who supports our members’ priorities, regardless of party affiliation. There’s no question that it’s helpful to have someone advising the President with a proven pro-trucker legislative record.”
Vance, known for his populist conservatism that sometimes runs counter to traditional Republican viewpoints, supports a Rail Safety Bill that Democrats in Congress have been trying to get passed in the aftermath of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Vance’s home state.
At the same time, he wants to repeal tax incentives for electric vehicles, including those for commercial trucks.
Trump himself stirred up populist support among owner-operators in May 2020 when they got the former president’s attention during a weeks-long rally/protest along Constitution Avenue in Washington. Drivers were protesting against brokers who were allegedly gouging them on rates and taking an unfair advantage in the spot market.
Brokers refuted the allegations, countering that there was simply not enough freight to support the amount of carrier capacity that was still in the market during the initial stages of the pandemic.
Disclosure: J.D. Vance is an investor in FreightWaves SONAR through the Rise of the Rest fund.
