President Donald Trump is expected to sign an Executive Order on Monday cracking down on commercial vehicle drivers who are not proficient at speaking English.

On Monday morning, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy both tweeted a link to a Breitbart News article entitled “Exclusive: Trump To Sign Order Ensuring Truckers Speak English.”

The Breitbart article includes excerpts from an Executive Order (EO) expected to be signed at 5 p.m. (Eastern) on Monday directing the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) “to rescind and replace guidance to strengthen inspection procedures for compliance with English proficiency requirements.”

“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 EO reads, according to the report.

Breitbart also reports that the order will instruct USDOT to dig into commercial driver’s license (CDL) authenticity verification, and to examine regulatory or enforcement actions that could improve working conditions for U.S. truck drivers. 

The EO expected to be signed on Monday would build on an EO signed by President Trump on March 1 designating English as the official language of the U.S. 

The upcoming EO is endorsed by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA).

“OOIDA and the 150,000 truckers we proudly represent strongly support President Trump’s decision to resume enforcement of English proficiency requirements for commercial drivers,” said OOIDA President Todd Spencer. “Basic English skills are essential for reading critical road signs, understanding emergency instructions, and interacting with law enforcement. Road signs save lives—but only when they’re understood. That’s why OOIDA petitioned the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance earlier this year to reinstate English proficiency as an out-of-service violation. Today’s announcement is a welcome step toward restoring a common-sense safety standard.”

Federal law on the books for decades already requires commercial vehicle drivers to possess English proficiency so that they can read signs and communicate with the public and law enforcement. However, a 2016 FMCSA-issued memorandum removed the requirement to place drivers out of service for English Language Proficiency (ELP) violations and changed the standards for determining non-compliance with ELP rules.

ELP for truck drivers has become a hot-button issue in trucking since Trump entered his second term in the White House. Just last week, Oklahoma lawmakers advanced a bill that citizenship and language requirements for drivers of commercial vehicles. Earlier this month, Wyoming Rep. Harriet Hageman penned a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asking for USDOT to step up enforcement of existing requirements for ELP for commercial vehicle drivers.

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