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The president of the United States, Donald Trump, hopes to greet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the west wing entrance of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 27, 2025.
Carl Court | AFP | Getty images
President Donald Trump He plans to sign an executive order that makes English in the official language of the United States, three White House officials said to CNBC on Friday.
The order would establish a national language for the first time in the history of the United States.
Trump’s order would also terminate former President Bill Clinton August 2000 Directive Require that the agencies and other recipients of federal funds provide services for those with limited domain of English, according to an informative sheet shared with CNBC.
Trump’s designation will allow federal agencies to maintain their current policies and continue providing documents and services in other languages. But “it encourages new Americans to adopt a national language that opens the doors to greater opportunities,” according to the information sheet.
The Wall Street Journal First reported The request on Friday morning.
Trump’s calendar for Friday does not include any time to sign executive orders. A White House source did not immediately say when Trump was expected to sign the order.
More than half of the US states have formally established English as their official language. But the federal government has never done the same.
Around one in five Americans, almost 68 million, spoke a language that is not English at home in 2019, according to the United States Census Office. That figure was almost triple where I was in 1980.
The White House fact sheet argues that having a national language “strengthens the fabric of our society” by promoting unity and civic commitment, as well as the establishment of “efficiency in government operations.”
Trump has fueled the unfounded fears among voters about undocumented immigrants during much of his political career. But during his 2024 presidential campaign, he Zero in languages as a sign of what he said was madness immigration.
“We have languages that come to our country … of which no one in this country has heard,” he said during a speech at the conservative political action conference.
