President Trump to order English as official U.S. language

• The White House said Friday that the order promotes unity and establishes efficiency in government operations. More than 30 states have declared English as their official language.

The White House said Friday that President Donald Trump will sign an executive order making English the official language of the United States. It is the first such order in the nation’s nearly 250-year history.

The White House said the order “promotes unity, establishes efficiency in government operations, and creates a pathway for civic engagement.”

While English is by far the most common language spoken in the U.S. per Census data at nearly 78 percent, there are over 350 languages spoken across the nation.

The order looks to rescind a 25-year-old Clinton-era policy that required government agencies and organizations receiving federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers. Instead, the entities will be allowed to choose to continue to offer those services in languages other than English.

“Agencies will have flexibility to decide how and when to offer services in languages other than English to best serve the American people and fulfill their agency mission,” a White House summary stated. 

Legislation has been attempted in Congress to declare English as the official U.S. language, but it has never successfully made its way through the Capitol. The new Republican majorities in the U.S. Senate and House could attempt to codify the order into law following Trump’s lead.

More than 30 of the 50 states have declared English as their official language in spite of the lack of action from the federal government to that end.