House Democrats are demanding answers on what they’re calling a “reckless decision to weaken language accessibility” by President Donald Trump. Fifty-six members, spearheaded by Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus leadership, asked in a letter how Trump’s executive order designating English the official language of the United States could impact Americans’ ability to access key government services.
“It’s outrageous … no federal law exists that gives the president that authority to designate English as the official language,” said Rep. Judy Chu, who led the letter sent Saturday to Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi. The letter was first obtained by NOTUS.
Trump signed an executive order in March designating English as the official language of the United States. Although the order does not stop federal agencies from providing resources in other languages, the White House and some agencies have cut some non-English language programs, prompting concern about further limits to accessibility.