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President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order designating English as the official language of the United States, a landmark decision that would mark the first federally recognized national language in nearly 250 years of U.S. history.
According to a draft White House fact sheet obtained by The Washington Post, the order will rescind a mandate issued by former President Bill Clinton that required federal agencies and recipients of federal funding to provide extensive language assistance to non-English speakers.
The order, the fact sheet states, aims to promote “national cohesion” and “efficiency in government operations.” While it will allow federal agencies to maintain existing multilingual services at their discretion, it “encourages new Americans to adopt a national language that opens doors to greater opportunities.”
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the pending order.
Legal Challenges Loom as Critics Call Move “Discriminatory”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) suggested that the Trump administration could face legal action over the executive order.
“Like dozens of other executive orders and actions that have been taken, we’re going to have to examine if what he’s doing is actually in compliance with the law and the United States Constitution,” Jeffries said during a news conference Friday. “To the extent that it’s not, I’m confident that he will be sued.”
Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), who is set to deliver the Spanish-language response to Trump’s upcoming address to Congress, warned that the move could harm the nation’s global competitiveness.
“It’s mind-boggling if the intent is to suppress the ability of our young people to be proficient in other languages,” Espaillat said. “I think that that doesn’t make us competitive as a country.”
Trump’s Longstanding Push for English as the National Language
Trump has frequently emphasized the role of English in American society, often tying the issue to immigration policy.
During a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last year, Trump claimed that migrants entering the U.S. speak “languages that nobody in this country has ever heard of.” He made similar remarks at a rally in Virginia, stating that classrooms in New York were overwhelmed with students “from countries where they don’t even know what the language is.”
“We have nobody that even teaches it. These are languages that nobody ever heard of,” he said.
Shortly after Trump began his second term, the White House removed the Spanish-language version of its website and archived the official Spanish-language X account, @LaCasaBlanca.
Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, has also pushed for English to be the official language. As a senator, he sponsored the English Language Unity Act, which sought to mandate English for government functions and introduce a language test for naturalization.
Trump has long advocated for English as a unifying force. On the 2016 campaign trail, he criticized then-GOP rival Jeb Bush for speaking Spanish while campaigning.
“He should really set an example by speaking English in the United States,” Trump said at the time.
How Many Americans Speak Only English?
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018-2022 American Community Survey, 78.3% of U.S. residents aged five and older speak only English at home. Additionally, 8.4% of the population reports speaking English “less than ‘very well.’”
The executive order would not ban other languages from being spoken in the U.S., but it signals a significant policy shift regarding multilingual government services and support for non-English speakers.
As the order moves forward, legal challenges appear likely, setting the stage for yet another battle over language and immigration policy in Trump’s presidency.
