Attorney General Pam Bondi issued new guidelines on Monday to implement President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring English the official language of the United States. Bondi described the directive as “transformative,” aiming to foster “a more cohesive and engaged nation” by promoting assimilation over division.
The seven-page memo instructs all federal agencies to reduce multilingual services and conduct comprehensive audits of their non-English offerings. Agencies are required to develop plans to eliminate “unnecessary multilingual offerings,” with any savings redirected to English-language instruction and assimilation programs. The guidance also mandates the temporary suspension of LEP.gov, the federal portal for limited English proficiency individuals, as public-facing language-access materials undergo internal review.
Over the next 180 days, agencies must revise their plans and seek public feedback while crafting new language-access standards. The Department of Justice (DOJ) envisions this process producing “clear, practical guidelines” that prioritize English usage while clarifying when multilingual support remains necessary. The guidance also encourages agencies to explore artificial intelligence and machine translation tools to manage limited non-English needs.
Significantly, the DOJ memo rejects the use of disparate-impact theory to enforce multilingual services under civil-rights laws. Historically, lack of language assistance was considered discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, even without intent.
The new guidance argues this interpretation lacks legal basis, stating language classification should be seen as national origin discrimination only if no other explanation exists, citing Supreme Court precedent.
