The goal is, according to sources within the White House, to achieve unity and efficiency as well as open up for increased community engagement, writes The Washington Post.
The immigrant nation has, since its founding, been characterized by hundreds of languages, spoken by all those who have come to the USA to seek their fortune. Agreeing on a single language has not been easy, even though most have switched to English – barely eight out of ten Americans speak it at home according to official statistics.
Trump's order replaces previous decisions by President Bill Clinton that authorities and others who want to receive federal funds must provide information in multiple languages and offer assistance to those who do not speak English. This will not be prohibited, but the requirement is being removed, according to the sources.
During his election campaign, Trump repeatedly brought up what he saw as a threat to the USA; immigrants who cannot speak English and whom he incorrectly claimed "speak languages that nobody has even heard of".
When he took office in January this year, the White House's Spanish-language website was shut down. And already in a debate in 2015, he said:
We speak English here, not Spanish.
Now he appears to be taking at least an official step closer to that wish.
