In a powerful move to restore common sense and prioritize public safety, President Donald J. Trump has signed a new executive order that will require all commercial truck drivers to demonstrate proficiency in English—a long-overdue measure aimed at keeping American roads safer and curbing the hiring of illegal immigrants.
The order, announced on April 28, 2025, is being hailed by conservatives and industry professionals alike as a critical step toward restoring sanity to America’s trucking regulations. Under previous administrations, English proficiency requirements were quietly watered down—leaving roads vulnerable to chaos and endangering lives.
According to a fact sheet from the White House, the new executive order grants the Secretary of Transportation the authority to take further action to improve the working conditions for truckers and to enforce safety standards with real accountability. The heart of the policy is straightforward: if you’re driving an 80,000-pound commercial vehicle on American highways, you should be able to read the signs and follow directions—in English.
“President Trump believes that English is a non-negotiable safety requirement for professional drivers,” the fact sheet states. “Drivers must be able to read and understand traffic signs; communicate with traffic safety officers, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station personnel.”
This is not just about communication—it’s about safety, national security, and preserving the integrity of our workforce.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the media, explaining that communication breakdowns between truckers and officials have become a growing public safety concern. “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,” she said. And she’s right—only the radical left could find fault in making sure that drivers of massive machinery can understand road signs and follow instructions from law enforcement.
Beyond road safety, this order also takes a jab at the Biden-era guidance that undermined English standards for drivers. Under President Trump’s directive, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is now empowered to reverse the damage, rescind those reckless guidelines, and restore accountability to the industry.
Predictably, the media elites will call this move “xenophobic” or “discriminatory”—but the trucking industry isn’t buying it. Leaders in the field are applauding the order. Dan Hovarth of the American Trucking Associations said, “We thank the Trump Administration for responding to our concerns… we look forward to working with FMCSA and law enforcement on consistent enforcement.”
The Small Business in Transportation Coalition echoed the sentiment: “America… will now see that the roads will be safer with truckers being required to speak, understand, and read English.”
But the coalition also issued a warning: this victory is only safe as long as Trump is in office. Congress must now step up and codify this into law before it’s stripped away by future leftist administrations eager to put political correctness above public safety.
Once again, Trump is proving that leadership means action—not appeasement. This executive order puts Americans first, and it’s exactly the kind of bold, pro-worker policy the country needs more of.
