Hacker News Reader

Comment by rufus_foreman | Hacker News Reader

>> the US has never had an official language

The US has an official language. It is English. See https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/desi....

"To promote unity, cultivate a shared American culture for all citizens, ensure consistency in government operations, and create a pathway to civic engagement, it is in America’s best interest for the Federal Government to designate one — and only one — official language. Establishing English as the official language will not only streamline communication but also reinforce shared national values, and create a more cohesive and efficient society.

Accordingly, this order designates English as the official language of the United States."

View on HN

I admit that I was unaware of that order, as I currently live overseas and don’t follow US news that closely.

However, the order opens with the line “By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America,” and I know of no law or constitutional clause that grants the President the power to designate an official language.

I could easily be mistaken, as there are a lot of laws on the books and this isn’t my field of expertise. Usually, though, an executive order will cite the relevant authority so that everyone understands where the power comes from; this one doesn’t.

It’s also mostly symbolic, aside from rescinding a previous order— None of the executive agencies are directed to halt producing or processing non-English documents, for instance.

Executive orders are not laws, they're fancy memos. Puerto Rico is in the US btw where the official language is also Spanish.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_United_States

> On March 1, 2025, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 14224 to symbolically designate English as the official language of the United States for the first time.[2][23] The U.S. Congress has never passed legislation declaring an official language at the federal level,[24][25] but English is typically used by the federal government and in states that do not have an official language.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com