White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that President Donald Trump would sign an executive order mandating that truck drivers pass English literacy tests in order to improve road safety.
An “order directing the Department of Transportation to include English literacy tests for our truckers” will be signed by President Trump. At a press conference with new media members on Monday afternoon, Leavitt stated, “This is a big problem in the trucking community.” Earlier Monday morning, the White House held a press briefing, which was distinct from the news conference.
According to Leavitt, Trump is anticipated to sign the executive order late on Monday afternoon.
“You might not know, but there’s a lot of communication problems between truckers on the road with federal officials and local officials, as well, which obviously is a public safety risk,” Leavitt added. “So we’re going to ensure that our truckers, who are the backbone of our economy, are all able to speak English. That’s a very commonsense policy.”
In addition to “carrying out additional administrative, regulatory, or enforcement actions to improve the working conditions of America’s truck drivers,” the order instructs Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy “to rescind guidance that watered down the law requiring English proficiency for commercial drivers,” a White House official told.
“President Trump believes that English is a non-negotiable safety requirement for professional drivers, as they should be able to read and understand traffic signs; communicate with traffic safety officers, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station personnel; and provide and receive feedback and directions in English,” the White House official stated.
According to experts cited by Cain, the Biden-Harris administration in 2024 supported an initiative that expanded truck driving training opportunities for refugees, while the former president Barack Obama administration in 2016 blocked the implementation of an English language requirement for drivers.
As a result, there are now more foreign-born truck drivers working in the United States.
Trump’s expected executive action follows his praise of truck drivers during his first administration’s 2020 coronavirus pandemic for their efforts transporting merchandise to retail establishments while the country was under lockdown.
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Trump stated, “American truckers are the foot soldiers who are really carrying us to victory,” when speaking from the White House in April 2020. “They did a fantastic job. There haven’t been any issues. Simply put, it’s been fantastic.
“Thank God for truckers,” he continued.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has signed at least two executive orders pertaining to the English language. In March, Trump issued a separate executive order designating English as the nation’s official language.
“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 exhange ideas in one shared language,” Trump wrote in that sequence.
Former President Bill Clinton’s 2000 executive order, “Improving Access Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency,” which mandated that federal agencies and recipients of government funding offer language support to non-native English speakers, was repealed by the order.
