The Hill
By Warren Davidson, opinion contributor
July 22, 2025
Freedom means owning what you buy, whether it’s a Jeep Wrangler for your family or a rugged Jeep AEV J8 Milspec built for our troops. But there’s a problem.
In today’s landscape, automakers are locking you out of fixing your own vehicles. They hoard the tools, software and know-how needed for repairs, in effort to establish a monopoly over auto repair.
That’s not just un-American — it’s a threat to our liberty and security.
Take this story from an active-duty logistics officer, knee-deep in South Korean mud, stunned to hear her Marine mechanic couldn’t fix a broken generator.
Why? “Because of the warranty, ma’am.”
A civilian corporate policy paralyzing our military? That’s a SNAFU we cannot tolerate. Imagine MASH’s Radar O’Reilly telling Colonel Potter his World War II Willys Jeep is down because the manufacturer says so. Absurd!
Thankfully, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gets it. He’s demanding right-to-repair rules for all Army contracts, new and old, so our troops can keep equipment running in war zones without waiting on a corporate help desk. This saves taxpayer dollars, boosts readiness and cuts bureaucratic nonsense.
And what’s good for our military is good for every American.
In Congress, I’m backing the bipartisan REPAIR Act. This bill forces automakers to share the tools, data and information needed for you, your local mechanic or independent shops to fix your car. No more gatekeeping. No more monopolies. …