Trump's DOT threatens to withhold funds from states that don't enforce English requirements for truck drivers
NBC3 days
Three U.S. States Face Federal Funding Cuts Over Trucker English Rules
Above: U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy (left) and Chief Counsel for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Jesse Ellison in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 26, 2025. Image copyright: Eric Lee/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The Spin
Democratic narrative
Trump’s English-only trucking order is less about safety than it is political theater. By sidelining immigrant drivers during a historic labor shortage, it risks crippling supply chains and inflating costs for U.S. families. Targeting immigrant truckers, who have kept goods moving through crises, punishes essential workers under the guise of “safety,” while deepening discrimination.
Pro-Trump narrative
Requiring truckers to speak English isn’t xenophobia — it’s common sense. Lives depend on drivers' understanding of road signs, safety orders and emergency directions without delay. For years, lax enforcement has cost lives. Trump’s order restores sanity: no one should be behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound vehicle if they can’t communicate clearly in America’s national language.