Trump signed EO 14224 designating English as the official U.S. language, revoking the federal multilingual access requirement

On March 1, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14224, "Designating English as the Official Language of the United States," declaring English the official national language and simultaneously rescinding Executive Order 13166. The Clinton-era order, signed in 2000, had required all federal agencies to provide meaningful access to programs and services for individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP), establishing a framework that governed language access for an estimated 25 million LEP residents across federal programs and federally funded services.

EO 13166 was implemented under the authority of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on national origin in programs receiving federal assistance. Civil rights organizations warned that the rescission would undermine Title VI protections for non-English speakers and that the language access obligation likely remained legally required under Title VI regardless of the executive order. The administration acted without congressional legislation establishing an official language and without a regulatory notice-and-comment process.