Trump to require truck drivers to speak English, pass literacy tests as 'communication problems' mount
'That's a very commonsense policy,' Leavitt said of the upcoming executive order
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order requiring truck drivers to pass English literacy tests, which will bolster road safety, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Trump will sign an "order directing the Department of Transportation to include English literacy tests for our truckers. This is a big problem in the trucking community," Leavitt said on Monday afternoon during a press conference with new members of the media. The press conference was separate from a White House press briefing earlier Monday morning.
Trump is expected to sign the executive order late Monday afternoon, Leavitt said.
"You might not know, but there are 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 continued. "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."
President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order requiring truck drivers to pass an English literacy test. (Bob Riha Jr./Reuters)
The order directs Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy "to rescind guidance that watered down the law requiring English proficiency for commercial drivers," and to "carry out additional administrative, regulatory, or enforcement actions to improve the working conditions of America’s truck drivers," according to details provided to Fox News Digital by a White House official.
"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 shared.
Truckers who are unable to prove they are proficient in English will be "placed out-of-service, enhancing roadway safety," according to the White House.
Fox News' Will Cain reported earlier in April on "The Will Cain Show" that trucking experts reported that there has been an influx of foreign-born truckers in recent years.
Cain, citing experts, reported that former President Barack Obama's administration in 2016 stopped an English requirement for drivers from being enforced, while the Biden-Harris administration in 2024 promoted an initiative that increased truck driving training opportunities for refugees, which has increased the number of foreign-born truck drivers operating in the U.S.
Trump's anticipated executive order comes after he lauded truckers during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, under his first administration, for their work delivering goods to stores as the nation locked down.
"American truckers are the foot soldiers who are really carrying us to victory," Trump said in April 2020 from the White House. "They’ve done an incredible job. We’ve had no problems. It’s been just – it’s been just great."
"Thank God for truckers," he added.
Truckers who are unable to prove they are proficient in English will be "placed out-of-service, enhancing roadway safety," according to the White House. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)
This is at least the second executive order focused on the English language that Trump has signed since his Oval Office return in January. Trump signed a separate executive order in March declaring English as the official language of the U.S.
"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," Trump wrote in that order.
The American flag is carried on the back of a semi-truck.
The order revoked an executive order issued by former President Bill Clinton in 2000, titled "Improving Access Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency," which required federal agencies and recipients of federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers.