Trump signs executive order to designate English as the official language of the U.S.

On Saturday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order formally designating English as the official language of the United States, the first such designation in the country's history. According to a communication issued by the White House, the order officially revokes a policy issued by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, which required different national agencies to provide assistance programs to those who could not speak English or had very limited English proficiency. However, Trump's order allows these agencies to continue to provide these support systems.

While English is already the official language in more than 30 states across the country, the Republican leader's order comes at a time when the number of people who speak other languages in the United States is on the rise. In fact, according to U.S. Census data collected in 2022, one in ten people in the country speak a language other than English, more than triple compared to 1980.

A promise kept

The executive order signed by the Republican leader reflects one of his major promises when he was running for president. According to the White House statement, "A nationally designated language is at the core of a unified and cohesive society, and the United States is strengthened by a citizenry that can freely exchange ideas in one shared language." Also, the statement adds that the measure promotes unity, cultivate a shared American culture for all citizens, ensure consistency in government operations, and create a pathway to civic engagement."

Another reason the executive order represents a historic event for the United States is that, over the past several decades, numerous congressmen have introduced bills to designate English as the country's official language. While this has come close to materializing several times, such efforts never achieved the expected results as they lacked sufficient votes in the legislative branch or were outright blocked by other branches.

During his first administration, President Trump began to show his intentions to designate English as the official language after removing the Spanish version of the White House website. While this measure was maintained throughout his first presidency, former President Joe Biden restored that version the first year of his administration.