Trump executive order requires truck drivers to speak English

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Hill

04/28/25 7:16 PM ET


President Trump signed an executive order on Monday that requires commercial truck drivers in the United States to be proficient in English. The text of the order acknowledges the essential role that truck drivers play in the U.S. economy and the livelihood of American people.

“Every day, truckers perform the demanding and dangerous work of transporting the Nation’s goods to businesses, customers, and communities safely, reliably, and efficiently,” the order said.

Trump designated English as the country’s official language in an executive order in March. In his order on Monday, the president said proficiency in English should be non-negotiable for professional drivers.

“They should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station officers,” the order said. “Drivers need to provide feedback to their employers and customers and receive related directions in English.”

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5271893-trump-executive-order-truck-drivers-speak-english/

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"Price of eggs", "Kitchen table issues", "Working class".

[MiHale]

1. Mad King doth proclaim...

[Old Crank]

2. The president should speak English

not gibberish....

[Chipper Chat]

3. Thank god he signed it.

The pressing issue of our time.

[Janbdwl72]

29. That's the problem with this alleged President.

His Administration's priorities are warped and make little sense. Much of this is a waste of taxpayers' time and sometimes ultimately, money.

[Chipper Chat]

33. He truly lives in a bubble

No contact with real everyday Americans.
He only knows Fox News asskissers and his kool-aid drinkers like the magas at.
his rally in Michigan today. His staff and family certainly won't tell him anything he doesn't want to hear.

[C_U_L8R]

4. And if they don't??

Off to an El Salvador death camp?

[OldBaldy1701E]

5. Again, the fact that the entire country did not laugh their assess off over this...

Tells me a lot.

[brush]

30. Yep, said truckers seemed to be doing ok before this EO.

Wonder whose coming up with tis crap for trump?

[FakeNoose]

35. I'm guessing the Teamsters? Or maybe it's the longshoremen's unions

[Best_man23]

6. This EO may well put some of his own "voters" out of work

Truck driving is a field of work that includes many with poor education, not just folks for whom English is a second language. What parameters do they place when the Convicted Felon says "proficiency"? Some of his own voters working in the Over-the-Road (OTR) trucking industry may not be able to pass a "literacy test" concocted by the Junta.

There is already a shortage of OTR truck drivers. Couple this with the ever decreasing traffic at US ports and its a perfect storm for a recession.

[groundloop]

7. Just another red herring to keep his magats stirred up

[k_buddy762]

8. My state has driverless trucks

moving between several major cities, and has for years now. All trucks will eventually be robotically driven. A sad day indeed.

[MayReasonRule]

9. This Is Not The Law Of The Land... This Is Merely Sound And Fury Signifying Bullshit

This will be fought out in the courts.

[onenote]

15. In fact, the ability for a commercial driver to speak and read English has been the law of the land since the 1930s

Trump's EO could result in more stringent and possibly arbitrary standards for compliance, which would be bad. But the requirement itself is not at all new.

This is the current version of the regulation: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-391/subpart-B/section-391.11

[MarineCombatEngineer]

17. Yes,

but when was the last time this was actually enforced?

[onenote]

18. Agreed.

In fact, the enforcement policy was changed in 2016 to recognize that the requirement can be met by a driver using tools to facilitate communication such as interpreters, I-Speak cards, cue cards, smart phone applications, and On-Call Telephone Interpretation Service.

Trump's EO would revoke that guidance and likely will result in arbitrary and more stringent standards of enforcement.

[onenote]

10. The ability to read and speak English has been a requirement for commercial truck licenses since the 1930s.

The current version of the requirement is that a commercial truck driver must be able to "read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records.”

Whether the implementation of Trump's order will result in additional, arbitrary requirements is something to watch out for.

[BumRushDaShow]

16. This was nothing more than an attempt to repeal FMCSA MC-ECE-2016-006

which was a memo issued in 2016 that supposedly (and it has been a nightmare actually trying to find a full copy of it thanks to 45's purging of anything Biden or Obama), puts some stipulations on handling the language requirements - e.g. indicating using discretion when confronting a driver who might have an interpreter with them, and there was even a related provision to handle those with hearing disabilities who may have been proficient in ASL but obviously unable to fully "speak" English, etc.

The movie "CODA" that won a Best Picture Oscar with deaf cast members, had a scene where there were federal inspectors boarding the family's fishing boat and some of the issues that happens in that instance.

Much of what comes up in the searches are the propagandized demands to reverse the memo.

[onenote]

19. Correct. Here's a copy of the guidance that Trump wants repealed.

I should have included in my original email that current guidance allows the requirement that a driver be able to communicate in English be met using "tools to facilitate communication such as interpreters, I-Speak cards, cue cards, smart phone applications, and On-Call Telephone Interpretation Service." Trump's repeal of that guidance likely will result in more stringent and arbitrary standards for enforcement.

The 2016 guidance is attached to this Oregon government document: https://www.oregon.gov/odot/MCT/SafetyNoticesBulletins/SafetyNotice_English-Proficiency.pdf

[BumRushDaShow]

20. The Oregon document kept coming up in the search

and it has been excerpted in other places. But trying to get it as a standalone has been a PITA.

[onenote]

21. Yep. I couldn't find it as a stand alone either.

[lonely bird]

11. Hmmm...

This may become another method for rounding up Brown people by using traffic stops.

Whether said people are here with proper documentation will be irrelevant.

[doc03]

12. Working for 40 years in a steel warehouse it was difficult understanding many

of the truckers from some states that claimed to speak English.

[IronLionZion]

13. Many immigrants and foreign truck drivers speak better English than our president

We should require all US presidents to speak English.

[JohnnyRingo]

14. Does President Donald Dumbass know there's a shortage of drivers?

It's difficult enough to obtain a CDL license without having to pass an English test.

[usonian]

22. Translate: 10-4, Smokey's taking pictures.

So, are CB 10-codes English or not?

Asking for a Good Buddy

https://www.truckercountry.com/trucker-resources/cb-terminology/

[Zorro]

23. Are they going to start arresting truckers who don't speak English?

Wouldn't surprise me.

[El Mimbreno]

24. It's all moot...

if there are no loads to haul.
Drivers have been advised not to haul loads to LA, since there's a good chance they'll be deadheading home.

[republianmushroom]

25. Si, senor. chuckle chuckle

Sí señor is a phrase that can mean yes indeed or yes sir depending on the context.
https://www.spanishdict.com/translate/s%C3%AD%20se%C3%B1or

[Blue Owl]

26. Those that don't will have plenty of time to learn, being that all of them are laid off now....

[get the red out]

27. It would be nice if Trump did

His interviews, few that there are, and unintelligable.

[Initech]

28. He can go shove each and every one of these highly illegal executive orders straight up his ass!

And the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society need to be permanently banned from DC!

[marble falls]

31. Even 3rd generation Tennesseans, Brooklynites, Nor'easterners, Cajuns, south Texans etc?

[no_hypocrisy]

32. TSF can't enforce it.

[DFW]

34. I'd like to issue a "popular order," sort of like a "people's new rules."

It would require any president to pass an oral and written test of English, including locating "Nambia" on a map, should they state that there is such a place, and defining "covfefe" as it is defined in a Dictionary of the English Language, if they use such a word.

It would furthermore require that all members of the House, the Senate, the Cabinet, and any Federal Judges or members of the Supreme Court take the Citizenship Test that is required of all immigrants wanting to become citizens of the United States. If they cannot pass the test with at least an 80% score, they are barred from taking office, or having a Federal job that places a great deal of importance on literacy. If the Republicans insist on foisting people like Hegseth, Patel, Tuberville and MTG on us, they should at least prove before the Nation that they deserve the position.